Music: Country USA: GAC list of top 20 patriotic songs as 4th of July approaches

Great American Country webs+t carry's  this article "GAC's  Top 20 Patriotic Songs"

by David Scarlett, with Sarah Wyland

If you want to hear patriotic songs, whether openly saluting the military or just extolling the virtues of everyday life in America, country music is a great place to start. In recent years we’ve heard heartfelt songs by several artists who may not be household names yet–like ex-soldiers Luke Stricklin (”American by God’s Amazing Grace”) and Keni Thomas’ (”Not Me”). But the tunes that made it on our list of the 20 Greatest Country Patriotic Songs are by some of country’s most influential artists, and these patriotic tunes are among their most enduring. For those counting, we even included an extra song. In no particular order, here they are:

“If You’re Reading This” (2007) co-written and performed by Tim McGraw

When Tim McGraw performed “If You’re Reading This” at the 2007 Academy of Country Music Awards, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. The song is a tribute to fallen soldiers and takes the form of a letter, meant to be read only if the soldier didn’t return home. Co-written with Brad and Brett Warren of the Warren Brothers, the track was inspired by an article the three men read about war casualties. After Tim’s performance at the ACM awards, one hundred relatives of soldiers who died in the line of duty appeared onstage under a banner that read ‘Families of Fallen Heroes.’ An emotional Tim rightly received a standing ovation from his fellow country artists.

“Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue (The Angry American)” (2002) written and performed by Toby Keith

Written just days after the attacks of 9/11, this tune makes no bones about it—Toby was fighting mad. Written partly as a tribute to his war veteran father, the song summed up the feelings of a lot of Americans who wanted a very forceful response to an assault by terrorists on innocent men, women and children. It became a rallying cry for our troops and a thorn in the side of people like Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks who called the song “ignorant” and Peter Jennings of ABC News, who uninvited Toby to be part of a patriotic television special after reading the lyrics of “Courtesy.” While Toby doesn’t describe himself as a very political guy, he is a “very patriotic” guy. “If you believe in it enough, it’s worth fightin’ for,” he’s been quoted as saying. “And if you’re not gonna fight for it, then you deserve to be dictated to, you know—and I’m not willing to do that.” Read more ...

Tech: Apple: iPhone 4 makes sales history, complaints answered

Letter from Apple Regarding iPhone 4

Dear iPhone 4 Users,

The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately began investigating them. Here is what we have learned. Read more ...

Technotes, by Technowlb

-- Yeouw! --


To start with, gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones. But some users have reported that iPhone 4 can drop 4 or 5 bars when tightly held in a way which covers the black strip in the lower left corner of the metal band. This is a far bigger drop than normal, and as a result some have accused the iPhone 4 of having a faulty antenna design.

Music: Pop: Eminem features Rihanna in "(I) Love the way you lie"

 Eminem the white angry ghetto troubador -- oops!,  rapper (I keep wanting to spell it "wrapper") -- is a crosscultural freak, and that nicknaming is done in respect and best wishes for his continued artmaking.

As he aged, he faltered -- I always find myself thinking in these cases that she or he has been in a state of exhaustion.  
 
Then, then I conclude as I look at the album cover,  he had some kind of "Recovery."  In the semiotics of the album and on the frontpage of the YouTube video here, the "o" in "Recovery" is rendered partly red or contrastively bordered red-to-w+it -- that's "white" without the extra final "e," and the letter "i" replaced with "+" to translate the Owlbirdbet into a more orthodox spelling. Obviously, this exploration of alphabets and spelling alternatives is a pet project, even an idosyncracy.  But:  the w+t cross on the red field; so, included is the concept of a border between the two colours, w+t and red!  That's the thing.

Has Eminem gone thru a recovery, a recovery from a here/hear-acknowledged fall?  How does that find a place in his music, the lyrics of his rapping.
 Read more ...

Entertainment: TV: HBO multiple series schedule

From "Angels in America" to "True Blood," you can plan your entertainment (and continuing education too) on the menu of multiple TV series.

The only one I'm really interested in is "The Pacific."   Tom Hanks, a star in the series, appearing in many episodes, says that WWII in the Pacific was racist on all sides, the Anericans not less so than the Japanese, and we Anericans shoud have known better (a concept of Hanks' that is itself racist).  With Hanks, the war was racism  and relatively little else.  Which, to my nind, becomes a very narrow lens thru which to view the wide scope of the lives of the protagonists, and the more protracted and regimented lives of the antagonists, Imperial Japan.   But there's a lot more than racist ambitions in the clash of wills that ocurred between an Empire and a far-trading capitalist Democracy.  

I doubt there's a single Christian series of any kind on the list, but that's not the main thing. 

I know I didn't like what I saw of the Canadian produced, Ontario located series, Durham County.   I also know I detest the "comedy" of Bill Maher.

Beyond that I'm drawing blanks.

-- Owlb

Sports: Indianpolis 500: Dramatic crash mid-race

Mike Conway midair after crash with Ryan Hunter-Reay (of the Andreotti team) at the 94th Indianpolis 500, vehicle racing classic 2010.

Toronto the Good: 19,000 police protect the Gee-Twenty summit delegates, including heads of countries

The typical fate of G-8 Summits is riotous anarchists in the streets (presently under the name Black Block anarchists), and some burnt cars, certainly some smashed business windows in main thorofares often with myriads of onlookers and shoppers on foot along the sidewalks and the curbs.  And, oh yes, I woud imagine, the usual ganglion of dogooders with a protest on their minds.  Did I mention clobbered heads of the Anarchos?  Or, according to the latest published account, some 550 persons arrested?

Stay out of the street!

Someone from the monastery made a meditative tour down to Queen Street, Queen East and DeGrassi or thereabouts (later, I learn that the exact street location is the intersection of Eastern Avenue and Pape Avenue, where the police have set up a Detention Center for detainees acquired during the fracas on Yonge Street, or wherever it was.  Latest: An estimated 550 persons are being held at 629 Eastern Avenue, at a film studion that been converted into a temp prison for serious troublemakers at the G8/G20 summits.  At least 300  are being held at 629 Eastern Ave, at a film studio that has bee converted into a temporary prison for G8/G20 those resisting the G8/G20.

The G20 itself stumbles on, after lavish TV introductions of the org's official delegates by Canada's Chief Diplomat, Prime Minister, Stephen Harper.  In their proceedings starting the next day they reached an agreement in terms largely favourable to Europe's situation, as the European leadership presently sees the future.  The goal will be to lower the deficit in each country by one-half come the determined date in 2k13.

The USA agrees to the formula,  while arguing that too-fast a reduction coud lead to instablities in the global economy, in the third-word especially.

Brazil and the UN's Ban Ki-moon said they didn't want an all-out assault on the deficit in the "rich, industrialized countries."  Such a move woud unsettle third-world countries, they said.

-- EconoMix

Tech: Govt IT: Federal USA info technology to grow 5% to reach $112 Billion by 2015, 2k15

Information Week: Government, an email newsletter with an article by Elizabeth Montalbano
(Jun22,2k10) furnishes the first quantification in dollars of what the Obama regime's expenditures will be in IT, the info-technology headquartered in the info industry and now its products being bawt by the govt, a very big customer this year and next and next until 2k15.

Federal IT spending will grow 5.4 percent to $112 billion by 2015 thanks to the Obama's administration's plan to use technology to achieve key cost-saving and transparency measures, according to a research report released Tuesday.

IT is an integral factor in some of the Obama administration's near-term priorities, which will bolster growth in federal IT spending even though spending in this sector remains largely conservative, according to to the Federal Information Technology Market 2010-2015 report released by INPUT.

Leaders in the Cloud:
Identifying the Business Value of Cloud Computing for Customers and Vendors
Enterprise 2.0: Accelerating Business Performance
Videos

HeartMath's emWave is a simple combination of hardware and software that allows you to monitor the coherence of your heart rate, breathing and thoughts for better health and stress relief.

Technotes, by Technowlb

Administration priorities to improve how the government engages both with the public and among agencies hinge on technology, as do cybersecurity measures and a focus to increase program oversight and performance.

The government also is eyeing technology to help reduce energy costs, according to the report, which was released on the same day as another one analyzing the Obama administration's plan to consolidate data centers to achieve this goal.

Note that last phrasing "the Obama administration's plan to consolidate data centers," there's something eery about "consolidating data" with "centers" espeically devoted to just that -- a govt operation, to boot.

Toronto the Good: Spruces up: G20 Summit is coming to town ... meantime last week we had an earthquake

Toronto is rockin 'n rollin' 'tween the arrival of Finance Ministers and entourages, some heads of govt, for the G2 Summit. Preps became controversial when the bill for an artificial lake at the Summit's location was reported as costing $20 Million Canadian, or was that $20 Billion? Or was it American dollars?

Toronto the Good, by Owlbie Scowlie

I was standing on the stair to the Second Floor, leaning against the springy wood bannister rail when I felt it. My body was shaking as the rail absorbed the unseen shaking of the whole house. The rail absorbed the differential between my body's environment shaking and my elbow on the rail, my leaning arm, and my whole body swaying ever so subtly to retain its balance. Something like that.

Read more ...

Music: TV: Mo'Nique show is More Unique!

I watched Black Entertainment Television (BET):

A BET Commemoration of Michael Jackson, with excellent singing from a wide variety of musicians. Rev Al was there as sharp as ever. LaToya was there representing the family. I've never been a Michael Jackson fan, nor a LaToya fan, nor .... But, the Jackson show at BET ton+t was so packed with singing simply splendid!

The Mo'Nique Show -- hosted by Mo'Nique (More Unique?). It seemed to have a show within a show, as I thawt I was watching My Black Is Beautiful, hosted by Queen Latifah, and she was grand, truly grand. She interviewed a tuff lovely lady of song, Leela James, and featured a black-male singing group from whom I was able to download a podcast of songs on my iTunes, the 4-man group Dru Hill, who have reconstituted themselves after 7 years, egged on by a nu hotshot PR man. They were excellent. It turns out that the show is that of Leela James, who is taking over the position of host, and in this first episode apparently Queen Latifay has been brawt in to smooth the transition, and yet to give Leela a strong performance role on this her first episode. The whole thing worked, altho I was obviously mystified for a while. The next host of the nite, following that of Latifay and Leela, was a one who played pure host.

    Leela James

Read more ...

Sports: Soccer World Cup: USA back in play, England wins a match too

At last the American team won a match, against the Algerians.

At last the English team has broken-out of its slou, defeating ... ?

Hopefully, more scores and details will appear here, later.

Sports: Soccer World Cup: Portugal breakthru, NorKor flushed out, Spain rescues itself, Hondorus bites the dust

Shirley S. Klapper has it for Washington Post, "Portugal beats North Korea in 7-0 rout" (Jun212l,2k10): Portugal put on the most dominant performance of the World Cup on Monday, knocking in a flurry of second-half goals and routing North Korea 7-0, a win that puts Portugal on the brink of advancing to the round of 16 and means the Koreans won't make it out of group play.

Washington Post's Steven Goff (Jun22,2k10):

On Monday night at Ellis Park, a team desperate to remain in the Group H race and resurrect its championship aspirations performed with style and grace but lacked a finishing touch against badly overmatched Honduras.

Though David Villa scored twice in the 2-0 victory, Spain squandered a cavalcade of chances -- shortcomings that could prove costly if the group's round-of-16 berths are decided by goal differential.

"We had glorious opportunities, many opportunities, we should have won this game by more goals," Coach Vicente Del Bosque said. "I am not entirely satisfied."

Spain (1-1) is three points behind front-running Chile (2-0), the Spaniards' opponent Friday in Pretoria. A victory by the European champions would move them ahead of the Chileans on goal difference, but Switzerland (1-1) is also in contention heading into its finale against eliminated Honduras (0-2).

The reward for finishing first is avoiding the top team from Group G -- probably tournament favorite Brazil.

Sports: Soccer World Cup: Reprise on the USA vs. Slovenia game, by David Post on Volokh Conspiracy

David Post (Jun19, 2010; 04:54 AM PDT) has a blog-entry on the Slovenia vs. USA game in the World Cup group A series that makes something comprehensible of that match (Volokh Conspiracy blog. Again, if Post's sl+tly less tentative take on the matter is correct, I'm perhaps proved wrong in my assumption that USA is just a third-rate team when functioning on the platform of global football (soccer, as we Americans like to call it).

We Wuz Robbed!

We really wuz — er, were. A truly stirring US comeback from a 2–0 deficit in its game against Slovenia was spoiled by an indefensible and inexplicable call by the Malian referee, disallowing what would have been the Americans’ third goal. Replays from every conceivable angle confirmed what most viewers thought at the time — the only possible fouls that occurred were committed by the Slovenians on the Americans, particularly one defendenr who literally wrestled US midfielder Michael Bradley to the ground as the ball was coming into the box. But Bob Bradley, the US coach, had the right attitude after the game:

“Honestly I think that the set piece, most of what took place was that Slovenia players were holding our players. One player had his arms around Michael (Bradley), Michael was trying to break loose and a foul was called. I don’t know if that’s accurate. But that’s one version. There are moments when you are frustrated because you feel that situations have not been handled 100 percent correctly or fairly. But that’s how the game works sometimes. You move on.”

Sports, by Sportikos

And speaking of moving on . . . the good news on the day for the US was that England’s dispiriting performance in its 0–0 draw with a surprisingly confident and skilled Algerian team means that the US has its fate in its hands, and is a pretty good bet to progress to the second round. The permutations are complicated but the bottom line is that the US goes through if it can beat the Algerians next week, regardless of what happens in the other game. Even if its a tie, we’d get through if (a) Slovenia beats England (which, from the looks of things so far, is eminently possible), or (b) England and Slovenia tie and England ends up with fewer total goals than the US. [Currently, we’re ahead on that measure by 3–1]. So get your vuvuzuelas out, people!

I'm still looking for a breakout lead in the overall pattern of wins, and the numbers regarding them (I'm looking for a team that musters, say, two or three wins in the neibourhood of 4 goals, 5 woud be grand, 3 woud be good too.

Permission for republication is pending.

Sports: Soccer World Cup: Trends in scores, and looking for a breakout winner

Here's the wrap-up of Win / Loss / Tie stats for World Cup games to date, with the schedule for upcoming events tomorrow, starting at 7:30 am (ET and, of course, Toronto time).

For me, the tie between the USA and England was a blast.  When the USA tied Slovenia, 2-2, I was delirious having expected the American soccer team to flunk out in the first game.  Not so.

But what's this tie score thing?, there's lots of ties in the first wave of results as they're compliled.  Also, where there aren't ties, the scores are quite small, okay, but all the time?

Sports, by Sportikos

It was Germany, wasn't it?, that had an atypical win for this FIFA so far, a 4-0 but I forget against whom.  Ah, a leader is emerging that may go to the top.  But, no, that was a fluke apparently.  Germany lost in turn O-1 to victor Serbia.

Hat Tip to ESPN from the site of which this chart has been derived.

Tech: Govt: Will a "kill the Internet" emergency button be installed in Oval Office?

coming!

Sports: BasketballUSA: LA Lakers win over Boston Celtics, take National Basketball Association's Finals

Lakers beat Celtics to win NBA championship
by Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Lakers came back from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 83-79 to win the NBA championship Thursday evening. Kobe Bryant scored 23 points and Ron Artest logged 20 points in front of a hometown crowd to give the Lakers their fifth NBA title in 11 seasons.

Lakers Capture Franchise Title No. 16

by J.A. Adande, ESPN.com, Los Angeles

It was the Lakers' court but the Celtics' terms, a game that was as artistic as a tic-tac-toe board. If the Lakers were to prevail in these 2010 NBA Finals and beat their age-old rival in a Game 7 for the first time, they would have to be resolute, determined, tough. That meant Pau Gasol had to get physical in the paint. It meant Kobe Bryant had to find a way when he couldn't simply out-spectacular everyone else on the court. It meant Ron Artest had to make the Celtics pay when their defensive strategy openly dared him to beat them.

And somehow, when more things seemed to go wrong than right, with a deficit that grew to 13 points in the first four minutes of the third quarter, the Lakers found a way to win in a decidedly un-Lakerlike fashion, emerging with an 83-79 victory that came within 17 points of the lowest combined Finals score in the shot-clock era.

Except for Artest (and boy, was he exceptional Thursday night) this wasn't about the Lakers establishing their ability to win a championship, it was about removing any of the qualifying descriptions. This was about validation and eradication. It can't be said that these latest Lakers have not beaten the Celtics. It can't be said that Gasol shrinks at the sight of green jerseys. And, amazingly, it can't be said that Phil Jackson ever coaches one-hit wonders. This is the fourth time one of his teams has won a championship, then followed it with at least one more. That might even be enough to help him keep his job next season.

Semiotics: Romantic Archetypic: No direct 'troubled cosmic' format (Seerveld)

 

And  a certain feminine styling as well,

perhaps a child's artwork.

More of a 'life is a lark" format, 

than it is "troubled cosmic" format, 

which Seerveld once theorized 

was the most appropriate format 

for Christians following a painterly calling.

Hat Tip to the source the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz.

Semiotics: Cartoon graphic: Who's holding the gun / gas-hose nozzle? Who's getting shot with gas?

See:rW page 1 for political expressiveness of this satiric graphic / cartoon

Brilliant cartoon deserves own semiotic-illustrative analysis.

Games: Vidgames: Huffington Post carries an amusing game on a YouTube video

Videogames, by Crazed Player

Soccer: England vs. USA: tie score 1-1 at FIFA World Cup 2k10, South Africa

Here's the first actual results I've noticed from South Africa:

June 12, 2010, 3:31 p.m. EDT
U.S. ties England 1-1 late in first half

by William Spain, MarketWatch

The U.S. and England went into the second half of their first round World Cup match tied at 1-1. An early goal by heavily-favored England was overcome late in the half when what should have been a routine save dribbled out of the hands of English goalkeeper Robert Green and settled into the net. The U.S. had a scare of its own at about the 30-minute mark when goalie Tim Howard took a cleat to the chest and arm, stopping the game for about two minutes.

Sports, by Sportikos

I'll be looking for a YouTube vid of this one.

More results:

Nigeria vs Argentina (Argentina wins 1-0)

Movie: Review: Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky a steamy affair under nose of Igor's wife in Chanel's mansion

This lively review finds the movie not so lively. But the review itself by Stephen Holden in New York Times, "The Composer and the Couturière, Locked in Self-Centered Erotic Combat" (June 11, 2010). "Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It has sexual situations and flashes of nudity.

COCO CHANEL & IGOR STRAVINSKY

Opens on Friday (June 11,2k10) in Manhattan.

Directed by Jan Kounen; written by Chris Greenhalgh, Carlo de Boutiny and Mr. Kounen, based on the novel “Coco & Igor” by Chris Greenhalgh; director of photography, David Ungaro; edited by Anny Danché; original music by Gabriel Yared; production designer, Marie-Hélène Sulmoni; costumes by Chattoune & Fab; produced by Claudie Ossard and Chris Bolzli; released by Sony Pictures Classics. In French, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 55 minutes. WITH: Mads Mikkelsen (Igor Stravinsky), Anna Mouglalis (Coco Chanel), Elena Morozova (Catherine Stravinsky), Natacha Lindinger (Misia Sert), Grigori Manoukov (Sergeï Diaghilev), Rasha Bukvic (Grand Duke Dimitri), Nicolas Vaude (Ernest Beaux) and Anatole Taubman (Boy Capel).

Movie-going, by Theatre Alert

You don't want to miss reviewer Holden's account of the riot against the performance of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. Nor do you want to miss this additional article in NYT Movies page today, "Sex Symbol With an Unearthly Twist" (Jun3,2k10)

Video: Videogames: New products flashed by videogames companies

Sports, by Sportikos

MarketWatch's video page ishere.

Principium Consumers Hub,
by Compulsive Consumerist with a Credit Card

The Hub (PCH) ia a Christian service of refWrite to occaisonally alert you to products, provide evaluations of goods and services encountered in the course of daily life, and keep the flame of critique of consumerism alive.

Music: Pop: USA's great sounds of the Hog Butcher capitol, Chicago, Chicago, Chicago

The Grateful Dead, a collection of their recordings (podcast date June 8,1969), one item among those that had been recorded in Boston, as early as June 8, 1976. Thereafter, at this city and that, webbing their performance travel out concentrically across the USA, urban American internal-migrants (both in- and out- migrants), a stratum of potential audience to whom the Dead agreeably catered. The band played Boston, Massachusetts, at the Centrum, featuring this 5-minute song, several musical stylings within it, and a pronounced quality for recalling Frank Zappa's album, The Grand Wazoo (1971). This song in our podcast archives, is a way-post to understanding the wherewithall of the spontaneous feelings that beg for recollection, rumination and clarification in this music.

I've been casting about, trying to post here a clickable audio podcast of the mentioned performance. But, so far, no luck.

Technics: Internet Biz Transparency: Google explains and justifies itself on its transparency/privacy policies

It seems the sometimes glorious, sometimes nefarious Google has just set the standard for corporate accountablity in regard to transparency.

Google Explains Security Procedures
by Thomas Claburn,InformationWeek (Jun5,2k10)

In what it describes as a move toward greater transparency, Google has provided details about its security practices in a newly published paper.

In an effort to communicate its commitment to the security of its online services, Google on Friday published a paper that delves into its corporate security strategy. Eran Feigenbaum, director of security for Google's enterprise group, characterizes the paper as an attempt to be more transparent. It would also be fair to characterize the paper as an attempt to counter the perception that Google's online services are somehow less secure than traditional on-premises systems, a claim often made by Google's competitors.

More Security Insights

Whitepapers Panic slowly: integrated disaster response and built-in continuity

ForwardView: Four Areas of security vital to business health

Webcasts:

DNS DDOS Threats and Corresponding Mitigation Strategies

Spoofing Server2Server Communication: How You Can Prevent It

Analytics Breach, Diaries, Virtual Servers, Real Risks

Vids

Videos

Heartland Payment Systems suffered a major security breach at the hands of Russian Hackers. It sent shockwaves through the industry. We talked to CSO Kris Herrin about the attack and what's being done at Heartland and across the industry.

Feeling comfortable storing data in the cloud involves trusting a cloud services provider and the practices and policies they have in place," said Feigenbaum in a blog post. "In today's ultra-connected, Web-capable world, [and] understanding how data will be protected -- [this concept] is ultimately more meaningful than knowing it [your data, perhaps a company's worth of it] is physically located in one data center or another."

Google itself put that trust at risk earlier this year when it disclosed that "a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China, that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google."

China and Google

Part of Google's response to that incident -- said to be made possible as a result of a previously unrecognized flaw in Internet Explorer 6 -- has reportedly been phasing out the use of Microsoft's Windows operating system at the company, a move that may be motivated by marketing concerns in addition to worries about security.

But Google's work making potential customers feel comfortable in its cloud isn't done. In March, Yale delayed a planned move to Google Apps for Education over s e c u r i t y concerns. When the City of Los Angeles was considering abandoning its Novell e-mail system for Google Apps and Gmail, similar concerns were raised. The deal ultimately went through but such fears remain.

Technotes, by Sportikos

Google's paper, Security Whitepaper: Google Apps Messaging and Collaboration Products, should help allay those fears. It describes the company's

corporate security policies,
organizational and operational security,
asset classification and control
practices,
personnel,
physical, and environmental security,
access control,
systems development and maintenance, and
disaster recovery efforts.

It may not be quite as fun as, say, the comic book Google used to introduce its Chrome browser, but it's likely to help IT decision-makers render more informed judgments about Google's services.

Dark Reading's Vulnerability Management Tech Center is your portal to all the news, product information, best practices, reports, and other data related to detecting and remediating security vulnerabilities. Check it out now.

Music: Pop: UK's video music sensation, The Noisettes

YouTube music video blockbuster -- Never Forget You by The Noisettes -- UK sensation!



You don't wanna miss this one!  That's all I can say for now.

Pop Music, by Audiovisiotor

The dusky voice, the coiff, the coiff in silouette, the body movement, no cursing, no wanton. Just powerfully erotic love song sung.

Sports: Hockey: Chicago's Blackhawks win Stanley Cup, defeating Philadel[phia's Flyers. Boohoo!

Flash! Flash! Flash!

MarketWatach June 9, 2k10 11:31 pm

Chicago Blackhawks win Stanley Cup in 4-3 victory

by Michael Kitchen

The Chicago Blackhawks won the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup in a 4-3 overtime victory against the Philadelphia Flyers. The victory was Chicago's first since 1961, with a goal by Blackhawks' Patrick Kane clinching the Game 6 win.

Must go!Q Hope to return with a pix or YouTube vid. Wild!

-- Sportikos

Music: Country: Top 15 Country Songs on USA cable TV preceding week

Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by the Nielsen Co. for the week of May 31-June 6. Day and start time (EDT) are in parentheses. Hat Tip: Canada Press, via Sympatico.ca, my ISP provider. The list:

1. Movie: "ICarly Movie: IPsycho" (Friday, 8 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 4.98 million homes, 7.51 million viewers.

2. "Burn Notice" (Thursday, 9 p.m.), USA, 4.65 million homes, 6.61 million viewers.

3. "Royal Pains" (Thursday, 10 p.m.), USA, 4.11 million homes, 5.83 million viewers.

4. "Victorious" (Friday, 9 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.94 million homes, 5.95 million viewers.

5. Auto Racing: "Sprint Cup/Poconos" (Sunday, 1 p.m.), TNT, 3.61 million homes, 5.09 million viewers.

6. Movie: "ICarly Movie: IPsycho" (Saturday, 8 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.43 million homes, 5.241 million viewers.

7. "Big Time Rush" (Friday, 9:30 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.309 million homes, 4.71 million viewers.

8. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.305 million homes, 4.69 million viewers.

9. "2010 MTV Movie Awards" (Sunday, 9 p.m.), MTV, 3.27 million homes, 4.61 million viewers.

10. Movie: "ICarly Movie: IPsycho" (Sunday, 7 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.2 million homes, 4.77 million viewers.

Country Music, by Country gal

11. "NCIS" (Monday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.18 million homes, 4.14 million viewers.

12. "NCIS" (Wednesday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.13 million homes, 4.12 million viewers.

13. "ICarly" (Friday, 7:30 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.12 million homes, 4.34 million viewers.

14. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.09 million homes, 4.37 million viewers.

15. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.04 million homes, 4.25 million viewers.

___
Nickelodeon and MTV are owned by Viacom Inc. USA is owned by General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal. TNT is owned by Time Warner Inc.
___
Online:
Nielsen Media

Don't forget the upcoming date for the Country Music Association's festival
in Nashville, June 9-13, 2k10.

Sports: Baseball NorthAmerica: In Nats vs Pirates game, newbie Strasburg pitches a Nats victory

An excellent sports wr+iter, David Sheinin, in the Washinton Post today June 9, 2k10, wrote elegantly, eloquently about a new young sports hero: "It was the first major league pitch of Stephen Strasburg's career -- a 97 mph fastball, inside, ball one -- the dawning of a new era for the Nationals franchise, and the spectacular collision of two of the most powerful forces in the known universe: a once-in-a-generation baseball phenom and the assembled might of the media hype machine in the Internet age.

If it was possible to live up to that hype, the tall, sturdy kid with lightning in his right arm and the hopes of a beleaguered fan base in his hands did it, pitching magnificently against the Pittsburgh Pirates in his major league debut. The strikeouts piled up and the innings rolled by, and only one slip-up -- a two-run homer in the fourth inning -- marred the scorecard. Strasburg left the game after seven innings with a 4-2 lead, having struck out 14 Pirates hitters. He retired the last 10 batters he faced in order, the final seven by strikeout.

Gotta go.  Will update and fill out.

Sports, by Sportikos

Oh, by the way.  I just found out that Washington DC sports has yet another major league team in the lacrosse warriors known as the Cavaliers.

Music: 70s CounterCulture: Perennial fave -- The Grand Wazoo, Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention

Frank Zappa gave the world a masterpiece of instrumentation, and vocalizations used as instruments of a musical expressiveness perhaps not witnessed before. I have in mind his work, The Grand Wazoo. Zappa's life of vocation (realization of calling, that I woud say in his case is obviously God-given, whatever his faith and his doubt) resulted in a laurel celebrating nothing less than creative genius in poetic-music performance and recording production.

Below is a set list he drew up and took on stage with him when his band, The Mothers of Invention, performed at the Fillmore East counmtercultural music theatre in June 1971. The next year, after he had been attacked in London and was in convalescence, he created the mentioned album, The Grand Wazoo which is often labelled, as to its genre, "jazz fusion." Beyond the labels, all hail this poet musician and this great work.

Music -- Many Genres, by Audiovisiotor

Music: Country: If I've got a celeb fave, it's country-music songstress Carrie Underwood

Guess who's up to bat in Nashville? It's one of my few celebrity favourites, Carrie Underwood. She's up to bat in another sense too, as she'll be "batting it out" when she takes the stage at the Country Music Association's festivel, opening on June 9 and continuing thru the 13th. (The pix is actually from a 2009 event but CMA sent me this in the RSS feed I get from them in my email ... thanks CMA!)

Country Music, by Countrygal

 In Nashville, she'll be joined on stage by dozens of established and rising stars, many of them young fellows, and young gals too. Many more will be in the audience. If you want to join in summer mass events of festivity and h+-jinks, you m+t want to ante up some cash and make a trip to one of the great centers of country music and other genres, like Gospel, and the general crossover Christian taste-and-market niche, which overlaps with many genres -- since Christian music is not defined by a musical genre as such.  

Many country-music singers and bands function in both festivals, or coud if they wanted to.  But it doesn't matter so much to what association you belong.  For me, it's more a matter of whether the Gospel comes thru sometimes in the music, a given song or a theme in the overall body of work, recordings, and performances -- when it reflects personal experience, especially.

While I've got your attention, here's the June 4 country-music chart:

1. Carrie Underwood “Temporary Home”
2. Miranda Lambert “The House That Built Me”
3. Kellie Pickler “Makin’ Me Fall In Love Again”
4. Reba McEntire “I Keep On Lovin’ You”
5. Lady Antebellum “American Honey”
6. Clay Walker “She Won’t Be Lonely Long”
7. Emily West “Blue Sky”
8. Danny Gokey “My Best Days Are Ahead Of Me”
9. Luke Bryan “Rain Is A Good Thing”
10. Martina McBride “Wrong Baby Wrong”
11. Laura Bell Bundy “Giddy On Up”
12. Tim McGraw “Still”
13. Jewel “Stay Here Forever”
14. Brad Paisley “Water”
15. The Band Perry “Hip To My Heart”
16. LoCash Cowboys “Here Comes Summer”
17. Jaron & The Long Road To Love “Pray For You”
18. Kenny Chesney with Brooks & Dunn “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone”
19. Joe Nichols “Gimmie That Girl”20. Craig Morgan “This Ain’t Nothin"

Sports: Book: Anthology of 20 chapters for sports in a Christian college setting

I found it on an accidental blog, Steve Bishop's companion to his All of Life Redeemed webs+t, a great resource for reformational thawt, societal service, and faith discourse.

Physical education, sport and wellness:
an anthology of orignial contributions, edited by John Byl and Tom Visker
(Sioux Center, Iowa, USA: Dordt College Press, 1999).

Contents:

The Bible and the body: a Biblical perspective on health and physical education / John Cooper

The Incarnation and the flesh / Bud Williams

Somatospiritual model: a biomechanist looks at the Bible / Brian W. Bergemann

Transforming wellness: linking spiritual concepts to personal health / Timothy J. Voss

Spirituality and wellness: student perspectives / John Byl

Attitudes of member institutions of the Coalition for Christian Colleges and Universities (USA) towards required health and fitness courses in the core curriculum / Allison J. McFarland

Developing an aim-centered K-12 physical education program based on Christian tenets / Marvin A. Zuidema

Leadership theory as it applies to academic work / Beth A. Easter and Dale E. Gibson

Sport education: more necessary than ever / James Timmer, Sr.

Intentional integration of scripture into the study of sport sociology / Allison J. McFarland

Christian sports and leisure: oxymoron or redundancy? / Carl E. Zylstra

Sports, by Sportikos

We coach "Play the whistle" but what happens when the whistle breaks? / Gregory Gidman and David Turkington

Sport ethics via Thoreau / Douglas Hochstetler

A reflection on the moral value of interscholastic athletes / Calvin P. Van Reken

Pressure to win? But I'm a Christian coach at a Christian college / Karol Hunt

Moral reasoning: what is it and how it is best accomplished in the classroom and gymnasium / Sharon K. Stoll

The effects of religiosity, education and experience on the moral reasoning levels of NCAA division III male head athletic directors / James R. Timmer, Jr.

Senior student's perspectives on physical education and sport / Murray W. Hall

Calvinism and Mennonites:a pilot study on SPEPHERDing Christianity and sport in Canada / John Byl ["SPEPHERDing" -- is that a typographical mistake, or a wordplay incorporating an acronym?'

A contrast between physical activity in the early church and muscular Christianity: what implications does this have for the 21st century? / Dale E. Campbell.

Thanks to the editors, authors and contributors. Thanks to Steve Bishop for documenting this book in his AoLR archive. And thanks to Sportikos for maintaining refWr+t's blog-entries on sports of all sorts. The horizon of the book is the small Christian college, not the bohemoth institutions and wealthy sports programs that dominate the National Collegiate Athletics Association. Yet, it coud be useful to the fellowships of Christian athletes even those in the belly of the beastie.

Music: Country: Festival in Nashville, Tennessee, helps fund victims of recent floods that hit hard Nashville and region

Here's the deal for the Country Music Association's festival, Nashville, Tennessee (June 9-13):

Chevy: The Official Ride of Country Music will help kick off the 2010 CMA Music Festival on June 9 with “The Sixth Annual CMA Music Festival Kick-Off Parade” at 11:30 a.m. Central through the streets of downtown Nashville.

Brenda Lee will serve as Grand Marshal and other artists participating in the parade include Lynn Anderson, Katie Armiger, Rodney Atkins, The Band Perry, Bo Bice, Ash Bowers, Carter Twins, Jeff Cook, Diana DeGarmo, Fast Ryde, Colt Ford, Brantley Gilbert, Gloriana, Josh Gracin, The Grascals, The Harters, Buddy Jewell, KingBilly, Jesse Lee, LoCash Cowboys, Lonestar, Jerrod Niemann, James Otto, Danielle Peck, Point of Grace, Marty Raybon, Pam Tillis, Trent Tomlinson, and Chuck Wicks. Members of the National Guard will drive artists along the parade route in Chevy vehicles, including the all new 2011 Silverado HD and the Military Specialty Camaro.

“Chevrolet has had a longstanding, natural relationship with country music, commonly and proudly rooted in American tradition,” said Phil Caruso, Chevrolet Sales Promotion Manager. “We’re excited about this year’s festival and happy to provide fans access to their favorite artists and opportunities to experience Chevrolet’s newest products and technologies.”


After the parade, “The Fifth Annual CMA Music Festival Block Party” will take place on the Chevy Music Stage on the Bridgestone Arena Plaza. The event is free and open to the public and performances are scheduled by David Nail, Chuck Wicks, Jerrod Niemann, Joe Nichols, and Randy Houser.

“CMA is proud to have such a great partner in Chevy,” said Sheri Warnke, CMA Vice President of Strategic Partnerships. “These two great events will certainly help rev up the excitement for this year’s Festival.”

Four more days of live entertainment on the Chevy Music Stage follow The Block Party and are also free and open to the public. Among those scheduled to perform are Bomshel, Mark Wills, Emily West, Ash Bowers, Whitney Duncan, and Jason Michael Carroll.

Country Music, by Christian Countrygal

Country Music fans will have the opportunity to test drive brand new Chevys during CMA Music Festival. Chevy will donate $10 for every test drive to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to aid relief efforts for victims of the recent floods.

Chevy is also giving away a ticket upgrade to the Nightly Concerts at LP Field, will host activities, appearances and meet and greets on the Chevy Stage in the Sports Zone and will also have a booth in the Greased Lightning Fan Fair Hall.

The press release reveals the roster, adorned by many leading l+ts of American country music today, that offers opportunities as well to donate to the flood victims of the city and the region. Many fans of the genre were devastated by the hurricane-driven floods and tornados.

Many folks in the region are country music fans, many of country music's leading singers and groups are self-identified Christians. The music itself often contains explicitly Christian themes. And it is often sung by women who have grown up with the genre, telling the stories of their loves and lost loves and husband-forsaking turnoffs, restorations of marriages in some cases, a genre marked by its severe personal honesty and sentimentality driven by the desire to grant and ask forgiveness.

Not all country is "down home," some is definitely rather urban. I'm definitely a fan of Carrie Underwood, who's developed from her countryside roots to embrace her contemporary life which is mostly lived on the road and in the city. I sometimes refer to her as "glam country" because of her stylish outfits, reminiscent of Reba McEntire, another country music great. The male singers aren't too bad either!

Sports: Some games today: Washington Post listed these events to be broadcast

Thanks to WaPo's sports coverage and provision of a daily listing of events -- Major League Baseball and the French Open tennis meet --  refWrite can signal its readers who may want to tune into widely broadcast sporting events.  If you subscribe to WaPo's daily email service, you can get notice of their Sports stories, and the viewer/listener heads-up, like today's.

Washington Post frontpage is here.  French Open tennis match news is here.  Sad, but Serena Williams had problems (the clay court clogged her tennis shoes, made her footing unsure), and she lost.  WaPo's Sports today features an article by Barry Svrluga (a most interesting name with the pile up of four consonsants at the front end of the word), the article is 3-pages long "Five years ago, the Washington Nationals were on top of the world" (June2,2k10).

Sports, by Sportikos

WaPo, of course, roots, roots, roots for the home team, "If they don't win ...."  You know the great oldtimes baseball song, don't you?   The leading newspaper in the American nation's capital roots for these major league teams:

Baseball:     Nats (Nationals)  ...  and the Orioles (Baltimore, Maryland nearby DC).

Football:     Redskins  -- "Offensive coordinator Kyle Shahanian is pretty creative, and you've got to think he'll get the most out of two pass-catching tight ends. Cooley has been spotted lined up wide at times and without a clear No. 3 receiver, both Fred Davis and Cooley could see a lot of action, especially with a quarterback who relies so heavily on the tight end," says Jason Reid, "Redskins Insider" columnist for WAPO who's wr+ting these days about the Skins in practice exhibitions to fans at DC's Redskins Park.

Hockey:     Capitals  --  Catch sports columnist Tarik El-Bashir's preview of tonite's hockey cup finals  Game 3, "Chicago [Blackhawks] at Philadelphia [Flyers], Game 3 preview" (Jun2,2k10).

Soccer:       United   --   The big story today in the USA is not the various city franchises of this sport,  but the recent  win of the USA national soccer team against Turkey (Jun2,2k10). See the pix below: May29,2k10; Jozy Altidore (r+t) battles for  the ball with Turkey's Servet Cetin.  Pix:  John McDonnell - WaPo. 

YouTube: CNN vid: Factory in China (owned in Taiwan) produces iPhones & suicides -- WHY?

Tech: YouTube: Now the YouTube passion meets Apple's Safari browser

From CNET, I think.

Technotes, by Owlie Scowlie

Instructional videos are de rigeur these days. I keep wondering how better they coud be employed on behalf of my pet causes, like organizations of societal service based on Christian developmental principles and of reformational philosophy. People who need to find their way toward an understanding of a Christian worldview usually need personal interaction, not so much videos. But many aspects of Christian instruction regarding service in the various spheres of life woud cetainly benefit from technical video presentations regarding the special considerations of each sphere of interest. So, to my mind, the instructional video is in, for us too.

This video cawt my attention because at present I'm using the latest Safari browser and I also love YouTube videos on a whole range of topics. So, there ya' go!

Movies: New-&- Comings: A list I scarfed from Mubi, the movie auteurs s+t

Here's a valuable list I scarfed for your viewing pleasure and/or displeasure (I often experience both at the same time regarding most movies .... yes, I'm a movie ... er, a cinema, whore). To view the longer list, click up the Film tab at Mubi webs+t. Make sure you click further for the expanded view with the important details. Here's the top of the scarfed (expanded) list:

INCEPTION
United States 2010
DIR Christopher Nolan
Currently 4.6/5 Stars.
In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a single idea within one’s mind can be the most dangerous weapon or the most valuable asset.

YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER
United States 2010
DIR Woody Allen
Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
Written and directed by Woody Allen. A little romance, some sex, some treachery, and apart from that, a few laughs. The lives of a group of people, whose passions, ambitions and anxieties force them all into assorted troubles that run the gamut from ludicrous to dangerous.

CERTIFIED COPY
France 2010
DIR Abbas Kiarostami
Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
This is the story of a meeting between one man (William Shimell) and one woman (Juliette Binoche), in a small Italian village in Southern Tuscany.

FILM SOCIALISM
France 2010
DIR Jean-Luc Godard
Currently 4.3/5 Stars.
A symphony in three movements. Things such as: The Mediterranean, a cruise ship. Numerous conversations, in numerous languages, between the passengers, almost all of whom are on holiday…

BIUTIFUL
Mexico 2010
DIR Alejandro González Iñárritu
Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
Biutiful is the story of Uxbal (Javier Bardem). Uxbal’s story is simple: just one of the complex realities that we all live in today.

Movies ... er, Cinema,
by Movie Monger

OUTRAGE
Japan 2010
DIR Takeshi Kitano
Currently 3.1/5
In a ruthless battle for power, several yakuza clans vie for the favor of their head family in the Japanese underworld.

A PROPHET
France 2009
DIR Jacques Audiard
Currently 4.3/5 Stars.
Condemned to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena cannot read nor write. Arriving at the jail entirely alone, he appears younger and more fragile than the other convicts.

SOMEWHERE
United States 2010
DIR Sofia Coppola
Currently 4.5/5 Stars.
A hard-living Hollywood actor re-examines his life after his 11-year-old daughter surprises him with a visit.

ENTER THE VOID
France 2009
DIR Gaspar Noé
Currently 4.0/5 Stars.
Oscar and his sister Linda are recent arrivals in Tokyo. He’s a small time drug dealer, and she works as a nightclub stripper. One night, Oscar is caught up in a police bust and shot. As he lies dying, his spirit, faithful to the promise he made his sister—refuses to abandon the world of the living.

Requiescat in pace
May 29,2k10 article teaser with pix
DENNIS HOPPER, 1936 - 2010
by David Hudson

"Dennis Hopper, the maverick director and costar of the landmark 1969 counterculture film classic Easy Rider whose drug- and alcohol-fueled reputation as a Hollywood bad boy preceded his return to sobriety and a career resurgence in the films Hoosiers and Blue Velvet, died Saturday," reports Dennis McLellan in the Los Angeles Times. "He was 74. A longtime resident of Venice who also was known as a photographer, artist and collector of modern art, Hopper died at his home of complications from prostate cancer, said Alex Hitz, a friend of the family."

Tech: Govt Info: Expo in Washington lobbies Fed govt for new digital info policy

A h+powered expo and conference in Washington DC will lobby for new ideas regarding govt accessiblity and info-transparency, according to the values of the Open Government movement. The event goes under the rubric of "Gov 2.9: Aspiring to greatness in Open Government," according to Governement IT Blog and the email newsletter InformationWeek Government (they have several other newsletters targetting non-govt topics, with information on information of various kinds).

Gov 2.0: Aspiring To Greatness In Open Government

Posted by John Foley (editor, InformationalWeek) on May 24, 2010 04:46 PM

Tim O'Reilly is raising the bar on what he envisions for the open government movement. At this week's Gov 2.0 Expo in Washington, D.C., O'Reilly won't be talking merely about government serving as "a platform" -- that was last year's idea -- but about government as "a platform for greatness."

It's an ambitious goal for a concept that's still so new and unproven, but O'Reilly, the tech book publisher and Web 2.0 evangelist, is right to think beyond the release of data sets once cordoned off behind the federal firewall, which is only a starting point. He foresees not just new services and applications being delivered from government platforms, but, in some cases, originating from smaller government entities and at lower costs relative to existing services. "There's an opportunity to rethink how certain government programs work," Tim told me in a phone conversation.

O'Reilly compares "government as a platform" to the iPhone phenomenon in which Apple's smartphone serves as a foundation for thousands of applications created by a thriving ecosystem of third-party developers. Think of how that model might apply to the departments of Agriculture, Energy, Health and Human Services, Transportation, and the EPA -- with thousands of useful new apps and services being offered, but not by the government itself -- and you begin to see the potential.

The Obama administration unveiled its Open Government Directive in December 2009, and just last month agencies submitted detailed plans on how they will meet the mandate to become more open, participatory, and transparent. You can find a spreadsheet-like dashboard of where federal agencies are in meeting the Directive here. OpenTheGovernment.org has its own audit of agency plans.

Technotes, by Owlie Scowlie


Fine and dandy, with all due respect to the visionaries and evangelists of this proposed free-market innovation in digital info-flow: but without the integration of a security-minded stream, the entire advocacy posture becomes glaringly one-sided. Notice that Foley doesn't mention the Department of Homeland Security, but I imagine there are app developers out there with competence to add to the iPhone (and smart phones generally) a few cryptpgraphic ideas, and even apps for notifying local authorities of mischief on the order of the recent attempted terrorism at Times Square. Just a thawt.

Music: Postmodern Pop: Ratatat let's you hear free its 45 min LP4, until its release date June 9

I just stumbled on the group Ratatat, a duo, mostly instrumental. Grasping for references, I'd say the music is postmodern, like Frank Zappa was, in his celebrated The Grand Wazoo, but here the sound is somewhat more trancey, echoes of disco. Many genres, styles, instruments, and snippets of soundscapes are all dooodled together in what I found to be a quite enjoyable album. Yes, you can listen to it free in its entirety (45 mins) before its release date. To do so, go to the NPR page to which I've linked.

Music: Postmodern Pop, by Pop-Ear

Here's what their hype-mongers say -- no, that's incorrect. Rather, Here's what NPR's reviewer, Jess Gitner, in a proper music review has to say::

Ratatat's new album LP4 follows up on themes from the Brooklyn electronic rock duo's previous album.

Following the release of Ratatat's Classics in 2006, multi-instrumentalist and producer Evan Mast and guitarist Mike Stroud ditched their apartment studio in Brooklyn and headed to the Catskill Mountains. The prolific session at Old Soul Studios yielded roughly 30 songs, the first half of which would become the duo's aptly titled third album, LP3. The other half would comprise LP4, which comes out June 8.

Although LP4 is born of the same crop as LP3, it's not just more of the same. Mast and Stroud have reworked the songs meticulously in the two years since they were recorded. The duo pursues more ambitious arrangements this time, incorporating a full string section recorded at a later session in New York.

LP4 features sounds unheard on previous Ratatat albums — notable additions, given how recognizable the duo's tailored sound has become. Japanese strings, an assortment of international percussion instruments and other bells and whistles turn up on LP4. It's an exercise in and of itself to decipher each expertly arranged element, but Stroud says the mysterious quality is intentional.

Still, there's some continuity to LP4. Ratatat's movement away from guitar loops and preprogrammed beats toward live keyboards and percussion is a carryover from LP3. And returning from the duo's self-titled 2004 debut are brief spoken interludes — this time in German and English — which punctuate several songs on LP4 ("Bilar," "Drugs," "Neckbrace," "Bob Gandhi," "Bare Feast"). The interludes might seem strange to listeners, but weird seems to be what Ratatat was going for.

LP4 is full of unlikely twists and turns. "Bare Feast," for example, sounds vaguely South Asian, but borrows from a smattering of international influences. And "Bob Ghandi" attacks with menacing percussion before evolving into a positively charged dance party.

Ultimately, LP4 — streaming here in its entirety until its release on June 8 — showcases Stroud and Mast's immense talent for writing incredibly catchy electronic rock. Even without lyrics, their music has the momentum of a pop song. Through escalation and decay, Ratatat can capture and hold the attention of even the most distracted listener.

Hmmm ... "Brooklyn electronic rock," no mention of The Grand Wazoo (1973). As tho these guys have been listening only to trance all these years. Baaa, humbug!

I recommend that electic music-lovers listen up, give it a try.

Sports: Motorsports: Indy 500 welcomes Will Power, he seeks breakthru

"A year ago, Will Power came to Indianapolis hoping to simply finish the race. That won't be nearly enough this time," says Washington Post. Will Graves in AP via WP, "Job secure, Power eyeing Indy 500 breakthru" (May 27, 2k10).

...[T]he affable Australian admits his attitude last May [in his first Indy event] was decidedly guarded. He didn't race so much as he learned how to race at the demanding 2.5-mile oval [of the Indy race-track, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA].

"There was a bit of pressure (on myself) just to finish," he said. "It wasn't like focusing on the win because ... being consistent gave me a better chance of running some more races."

Sports, by Sportikos

For a driver facing unemployment, that's not a bad strategy. His goal was to land a job, not chug milk in Victory Lane.

That won't be good enough this year. Not by a long shot.

In the meantime, he broke his back in a crash, and recovered to now have a place alongside his team-mate, the venerable Helio Castronevea, the Brazilian "who is seeking his fourth Indy crown." Power placed in the qualifying run to be located in Row 1, behind Castronevea, by topping 227 mph, the only other besides Castronevea to do so. The privilege is reserved to a qualifier who gets the Pole position, at the head of Row 1.

Soccer: USA Team: Roster set up for the USA Team at World Cup

Flexible players featured on US roster for South Africa. When looking at Bob Bradley's final 23-man roster, it's important to keep two buzz words in mind: "versatility," and "cover."

ESPN: Bob Bradley unveils his 23-man World Cup roster

ESPN features article by veteran Sports Reporters:  Luke Cyphers and Doug McIntyre

Edson Buddle and Herculez Gomez have made the U.S. World Cup roster, coming from obscurity a few months ago to earn trips to South Africa.

U.S. coach Bob Bradley cut seven players from his preliminary roster on Wednesday to reach the 23-man FIFA limit.

Let go were defenders Chad Marshall and Heath Pearce; midfielders Alejandro Bedoya, Sacha Kljestan and Robbie Rogers; and forwards Brian Ching and Eddie Johnson.

Midfielders Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley, and defender Steve Cherundolo earned their third World Cup trips. Beasley's selection capped a comeback from nine months of national team exile that ended in March.

Both Buddle and Gomez are forwards, and Bradley said they "both have been in great form, scored a lot of goals this year."

Bradley gathered with his coaching staff on Tuesday to make the final decisions following a 4-2 exhibition loss to the Czech Republic, a match used to evaluate players on the bubble rather than to showcase starters for his team's June 12 World Cup opener against England.

The roster:

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton, England), Tim Howard (Everton, England).

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes, France), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Jay DeMerit (Watford, England), Clarence Goodson (IK Start, Norway), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan, Italy), Jonathan Spector (West Ham, England).

Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus, Denmark), Stuart Holden (Bolton, England), Jose Torres (Pachuca, Mexico).

Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Hull, England), Edson Buddle (Los Angeles), Robbie Findley (Salt Lake), Herculez Gomez (Puebla, Mexico).

Information from Associated Press was used in this report.

Sports: Motorsports: Big Rig uphill drag racing in logger-land Northern Quebec

You'll be amazed by this slice of Quebec culture, a northern Quebec sports-culture, based on the logging workers and their trucks.



But what you've just seen is the cabs without their full loads, the heavy duty competitions with typical log-loads in the annual drag racing in Notre Dame du Nord, Quebec. Here's the real deal:



Another take:



Happy Birthday to Ben, 37, who will be going to Notre Dame du Nord with his brother, a Big Rig drag racer, seeking the $25,000 prize there every year.

Music: Instrumental: Jazz saxophone varieties, like a 6 footer