Pop-Culture-Palooza

My Amazon Top Ten Lists

2006-12-06T10:47:00.000-06:00

Quickly and easily navigate over two hundred Amazon categories and see the current best-selling items. Our custom-made feeds are seamlessly displayed, or you can subscribe and view them in your favorite newsreader.
link...

tags: [amazon] [books] [computers] [software] [dvd] [electronics] [computer_games] [video_games] [portable] [mp3] [players] [iPods] [cameras] [photography] [office_supplies] [magazines] [music] [cd] [toys] [vhs] [video_cassettes]

via Wists: link

Which Espresso Machine Should I Buy? on Squidoo

2006-11-05T09:34:00.000-06:00

Not long ago the market for home espresso machines was limited and choices were few. Now there is a veritable cornucopia of good machines in a variety of price ranges.
link...

tags: [espresso] [espresso_machine] [cappuccino] [latte] [mocha] [cafe] [coffee]

via Wists: link

(Computer) Semantics @ Amazon.com

2006-06-01T05:36:00.000-05:00

Amazon.com recently added a category (Computer) Sematics (which they misfiled under "computer programming languages") The section includes information about the sematic web, computer sematics generally, and of course some wildly inappropriate titles their A9 search engine thought were cool.

read more | digg story

Buzz Boost Test

2006-04-20T13:54:00.000-05:00

Buzz Boost converts feeds to HTML for non-RSS-aware browsers

Typically this content is launched via Javascript, but since that's not allowed here, you should see content from Yahoo! Buzz Index in an inline frame.

Well, I'm not thrilled with the IFRAME solution, but this shows promise. Stay tuned ...

Browse Amazon Books: Classics Illustrated Comics

2006-04-16T11:33:00.000-05:00

Classics Illustrated Comics are generally true to their source material, and are not only a good way to introduce young readers to literature, but have also been the salvation of many a book report procrastinator over the years
link...

tags: [classics_illustrated] [graphic_novels] [comics] [collectible] [collectible_comics]

posted via Wists: permamark

My Lensmasters' Amazon "Top Ten" Lists

2006-04-12T17:31:00.000-05:00

Useful to Amazon associates or busy shoppers, this page presents Amazon.com's top ten most popular bestselling products in over 200 categories updated hourly. Browse, subscribe, or copy the Creative Commons licensed content to your own RSS-enabled pages.
link...

tags: [Amazon] [Amazon_associates] [RSS] [feeds] [Popular] [bestselling] [products] [top_ten] [Creative_Commons] [subscribe] [shopping] [update] [categories]

posted via Wists: permamark

Mars Orbiter Makes Port

2006-03-13T06:11:00.000-06:00

I'm trying to care about NASA's latest space probe, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Maybe if they'd given it a catchier name like "Scooter"...

I'm all in favor of science, but let's face it: Mars will still be available for exploration fifty, a hundred years from now or more. We're not in a cold war arms race with Soviet Union or anybody else -- so do we really need to be writing blank checks to Lockheed Martin?

Our genius president thinks so, but he believes there's no scientific evidence of global warming. We'd have been better off if Scalia hadn't sabotaged Al Gore, who just might have analyzed "prior attack on World Trade Center + Al Quaeda operatives not interested in landing large aircraft = ???"

Of course Gore wasn't listening to PNAC fascists who were hoping for "a new Pearl Harbor" to justify their imperialistic military adventurism. Its just like Vietnam -- Nixon saw Patton and invaded Laos; Bush saw Total Recall and invaded Mars.

We don't need more missile technology and spy satellites. We need to get our "boots on the ground" and start deploying earthly photovoltaic and fuel-cell technology. SS Major Wernher von Braun wasn't "exploring space" at Mittelwerk, and NASA isn't "doing science" on Mars. We've got plenty of science right here.

Chloe Dao Project Runway's Top Designer

2006-03-12T07:15:00.000-06:00

Don't expect to run out and buy Chloe Dao's Lot 8 fashions immediately. Although Project Runway is auctioning off some of Chloe's winning designs, reports from The Houston Chronicle indicate that the diminutive (4'11") Vietnamese designer's business has doubled since the announcement of her win on the Bravo channel series, with some items selling out the first day.

(Courtesy Lot 8)

City Search enthuses on Chloe's boutique, : "Former New York-based designer's atelier is for women with small budgets and a huge sense of style." The article goes on to state that in addition to her original couture designs, Chloe stocks items from French Connection as well as Max Azria's Parallel (now exclusively at Sears), BCBG, and To the Max lines.

Although, an online store is planned, the Lot 8 website hasn't been updated this year, nor is there any sign of a Spring 2006 collection -- undoubtedly due to Project Runway commitments.

We expect great things from Chloe in the future, including a new line developed with Banana Republic as part of the development deal she won on Project Runway.

Lost in the Amazon

2006-03-11T09:23:00.000-06:00

Amazon.com claims to be "The Earth's Biggest Bookstore," and they'll get no argument from me! The only problem with being that big is that it's sometimes hard to see the rainforest for the trees. As an Amazon Associate with my own little online bookstore, I spend A LOT of time beating the Amazon bush, and I've found some pages you probably didn't know about:

Although not really a page, recommended product links like the one on the left are cool. Evey time you reload the page new popular products appear. (Try it)

There are also a lot of feature pages that "Browse Amazon Books" never quite leads to. The early adopter pages in our sidebar menu aren't that obscure, but have you seen the Popular Pre-Order Books? What a great way to keep up with authors you enjoy!

Do you miss having a knowledgeable bookseller to advise you on book purchases without a lot of sales pressure? Various Amazon editors publish 200-300 Listmania! pages. That's something you won't find in your local brick-and-mortar franchise!

Of course, Amazon isn't just books anymore although I've started with the book section since there are books about so many topics that there are book tie-ins to 'most everything else. Anyway, I have found a forgotten link to The Billboard Top 40 that I know a lot of people will like.

March Madness

2006-03-10T07:25:00.000-06:00

NCAA Basketball conference tournaments are in full swing, with the winners guaranteed a place in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship mercifully known by the much shorter an more alliterative "March Madness."

Predictions abound regarding the make-up of the starting bracket, but the selection committee is largely guided by the Results Percentage Index, an objective if not necessarily accurate measure of relative team strength.

In addition to the thirty tournament champions (plus the regular season champs from the Ivy League, which doesn't hold a tournament), 34 at large teams are selected. Practically speaking, any Top 25 team according to the national polls can expect to be in this group, regardless of their tournament performance.

The remaining at large teams generally selected from the major conferences, that is the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, and SEC. The smaller conferences are often called "one-bid" conferences, since even teams that have dominated these conferences in the regular season rarely go to "the big dance" if they fail to win their conference tournament.

Immediately after the last conference tournament games, the starting brackets will be announced on the The NCAA Selection Show (CBS, 6 p.m. eastern time). There is still plenty of time to get your NCAA Gear to gloat over your team's inevitable victory, or pick out a good College Basketball book.

This year the NCAA will host considerable streaming video content on the web under the title March Madness on Demand. However, to avoid exceeding the available bandwith, they require free registration in advance.

Why We Fight

2006-03-04T07:46:00.000-06:00

This important documentary, deliberately named by director Eugene Jarecki after Frank Capra's 1942-1945 series, examines "unwarranted influence ... by the military-industrial complex" -- a phrase coined by President Eisenhower in his 1961 farewell address.

In a far more balanced inquiry than Michael Moore's 2004 Farenheit 9/11, Jarecki is all the more effective in exposing institutional excesses that go far beyond the partisan squabbling over "liberal" social programs. The film shows how the permanent defense establishment, unknown prior to WWII, consumes the lion's share of our national budget, and twists the political process to it's own ends.

The film doesn't spare Bill Clinton. During the public debate building up to the Kosovo War a frustrated Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said, "What's the point of having this magnificent military if you're not gonna use it?" And that, I think is Jarecki's point.

When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. If a country pours a disproportionate abundance of its wealth into armaments, sooner or later there's going to be a war.

Stewart Hosts 78th Academy Awards

2006-03-03T20:26:00.000-06:00

Author & comedian Jon Stewart will host the 87th annual AMPAS Academy Awards Show Sunday at 8:00 EST on ABC, with the red-carpet festivities beginning an hour earlier.

The only thing more lavish than the actresses' designer gowns and the nominees' and presenters' expensive gift baskets promises to be the Red-Orange-Amber security lending an air of spine-tingling nationalism and suspense to the event.

While Stewart is best-known for the topical humor displayed on The Daily Show, he is unlikely to be at his satiric best in a room half-full of Republican campaign-contributors. He may not be a Mark Twain or a Will Rogers, but Stewart could halt the Lenny Bruce -> Mort Sahl -> George Carlin death-spiral of American censorship. Only time will tell.

While I'm looking forward to the jokes maor than the acceptance speeches, Oscar night is all about the movies. "And the nominees are ..."

Best Picture

Best Director

Best Actress

Best Actor

Best Supporting Actress

Best Supporting Actor

Sophia Bush (No Relation)

2006-03-03T08:05:00.000-06:00

The beautiful and charming Sophia Bush ("Brook Davis" on WB's One Tree Hill) created a flood of internet inquiries when she applied for an annullment of her five-month marriage to co-star Chad Michael Murray in Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday, citing fraud.

(Courtesy UNDP)

Sophia was seen recently at the PEP(Poverty-Environment Partnership) head of state dinner, promoting world-wide poverty-reduction and sustainable development. Also present were singer-activist Wyclef Jean and actressess Kerry Washington and Rosario Dawson

The up-and-coming young star is a graduate of USC where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and the 2000 Rose Queen. So much for dumb blonds!

Age of Empires III

2006-02-26T10:06:00.000-06:00

Microsoft & Ensemble Studios have combined to produce a third installment of their extremely popular Age of Empires Series. Continuing the historical progression of the previous two games, AoE III focusses on the Age of Discovery and the colonization of the New World.

Serious gamers were quick to snap up the much-anticipated sequel, which sports many new and advanced features, but wider adoption seems to have been slowed by the game's hefty system requirements. This edition requires Windows XP for starters, plus 256 Mb RAM, 2 Gb free HDD space, and a (minimum) 64Mb video card, Not to mention a 1.4 GHz or faster Intel or AMD CPU.

As you might hope with all that processing muscle behind it, the graphics are stunning. Building upon the excellent but neglected Age of Mythology engine, Ensemble has added HDR lighting effects and pixel shader 3.0 for truly photorealistic imaging. Action sequences are also much improved by the inclusion of the Havok physics engine.

Gameplay has been improved as well with considerable customization in the hands of players through the new home cities. Trading has been upgraded, requiring players to establish trading posts along trade routes which develop from initial footpaths ultimately into railroads.

Combat has also been improved with better AI and increased benefits accruing to units deployed in formation. The military units available have also changed from previous versions, reflecting the game's advanced timeline. Most notably, gunpowder is widely used, giving units much greater destructive power at a distance.

Since the graphics are so striking, the official website provides an unusual number and variety of screenshots

Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire

2006-02-26T08:26:00.000-06:00

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (DVD), the fourth in the phenomenally successful Harry Potter series, is scheduled for DVD release March 7th, as is the two-disc Deluxe Edition.

Extra material on the Deluxe Edition DVD ROM Includes a demo version of the Electronic Arts game Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, extensive interviews with the cast, and behind-the-scenes featurettes.

Details of the special effects used to create the three tasks Harry faces in the Triwizard Tournament and conversations with Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson are on the extra DVD, along with magical trading cards, a Hogwarts timeline, and web-interactive content.

Stormreach AD&D MMORPG

2006-02-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

Stormreach is Atari's newly released Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) based on the 3.5 Core Rules of Wizards of the Coast / TSR's hugely popular Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.

Set in the new Eberron Campaign Setting, Stormreach is already being hosted by Turbine, and is the first game with voice chat. You can instantly marshal your party with this hands-free feature as you challenge the mysteries of Xen'drik.

The Sormreach Manual (4.73 Mb pdf) contains all the details you will need to create a character, log onto your Turbine account, and start hacking!The truly impatient can just read the Quick-Start Guide.

Two versions of Stormreach will begin shipping Tuesday (Feb 28, 2006) -- Stormreach Std. Ed., and Stormreach DVD. (Obviously, your Windows XP computer must be equipped witha DVD player to use this version.)

Initial beta-test reports indicate that the game-play is very smooth, and the quests are well thought-out and engrossing. Naturally, a number of stunning screenshots have been published.

Pop-Culture-Palooza

2006-02-24T11:33:00.000-06:00

Pop Culture is a moving target. An ephemeral will o' the wisp nobody can quite capture. What's totally hot one minute is so last-century the next. Why would anybody attempt to pin it down and dissect it?

Who cares? Maybe I'm tired of checking out the Yahoo! Buzz Index and having no idea who or what they're talking about. Maybe I'm trying to recapture my misspent youth. Maybe I just want to become the Simon Cowell of the Blogosphere.

This week, American Idol shocked NBC, who's tape-delayed coverage of the winter olympics couldn't compete. Randy Jackson surged in popularity, as did Idol hopefuls Ace Young, Katharine McPhee, Becky O'Donohue, and Taylor Hicks.

Of course, tomorrow's another day. Clay Aiken, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Bo Bice, and Ruben Studdard barely raised a ripple in the puddle of the collective consciousness, nor did middle-aged Laker Girl and one-time pop sensation Paula Abdul.

Perhaps their Grammys and lucrative contracts will console them.