Avicii and Dan Tyminski deliver "Hey Brother"

After the big hit called "Wake Me Up", Avicii (aka Tim Bergling,  is a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer) follows up with another called "Hey Brother".  What struck me about this is the fact that the actual song performer is Dan Tyminski who's "Man of Constant Sorrow" was such a hit in a movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?".   That's a bluegrass taken to the next level.  More info from Wiki:

Daniel John "Dan" Tyminski (born June 20, 1967) is an American bluegrass composer, vocalist, and instrumentalist. He is a member of the band Alison Krauss and Union Station and has released two solo albums, Carry Me Across the Mountain (2000), on the Doobie Shea Records label, and Wheels (2008), on the Rounder Records label.[2] He is best known for his updated version of the song "Man of Constant Sorrow," which was featured in the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and won the 2001 CMA award for best single as well as a Grammy Award for best Country Collaboration with Vocals (along with Harley Allen and Pat Enright, filling out the vocals for the movie's Soggy Bottom Boys). In total, he has won 14 Grammy awards[3] for solo and collaborative projects.

Just found out Macklemore is white

For the longest time I was certain that Macklemore was black. Until I saw the video. Is that racist? Nah. Just middle age.

 

Smokers should try Nick-O-Dick

Forget e-cigs. Kick the nasty habit the cool way. Try Nick-O-Dick.

 

NSA double standard when spying on the world

The ex-National Security Agency contractor, Edward Snowden, who is currently taking advantage of an asylum in Russia, is still releasing stolen NSA documents to major newspapers (ex. UK Guardian) around the world.  In the latest wave of secrets revealed drama, the world dissevered that 35 of the close and not-so-close heads of states were under the NSA phone surveillance.

Angela Merkel expressed the most outrage since NSA listened to her cell phone conversations.  The White House, and President Obama, categorically denied that NSA is currently monitoring or will monitor Merkel's cell phone.  No explanation of the past sins.

Other presidents and prime ministers were also unhappy with the spying scandal.  However, the biggest question remains.  Why is the media outraged when a foreign politician's phone is tapped but when NSA infiltrates millions of private emails on Google and Yahoo, tracks all the cell phone conversation in US and billions around the world, the outrage dies out?

According to a top-secret accounting dated Jan. 9, 2013, the NSA’s acquisitions directorate sends millions of records every day from internal Yahoo and Google networks to data warehouses at the agency’s headquarters at Fort Meade, Md. In the preceding 30 days, the report said, field collectors had processed and sent back 181,280,466 new records — including “metadata,” which would indicate who sent or received e-mails and when, as well as content such as text, audio and video. - Washington Post 

Is simply a double standard for us, regular folks, versus the "all mighty" politicians, the "rulers" of the realm.  How does it feel to know that the laws you pass to control your population and spy on your own citizens somehow made a 360 turn and came back to ravage your privacy?  Doesn't feel right, does it?

And please, stop treating us like imbeciles.  The "metadata" is imbedded in the digital data.  Do you really think that NSA would go through all the trouble to collect all those records just strip them form the actual data?  It's like getting a popsicle and melting the ice to get the stick.

Will Angela Merkel or some other European country take action and end relationship with U.S.?  Highly unlikely.  With 46,000 U.S. troops stationed in Germany, basically a lifeline to local economy, 11,000 in Italy, 10,000 in United Kingdom, and smaller deployments all over the Europe, U.S. is the only western country with enough power to run NATO and protect Europe and rest of the world.  The economic synergy between U.S. and Europe is also an essential part of the relationship.  So in short, Americans are free to do whatever they want under the umbrella of national security.

What we should worry about is the fact that privacy is long time gone.  With our lives revolving around webcams, smartphones, smart TVs, cable boxes with built in microphones, iPads, and laptops, hacking into any of those devices became a new surveillance standard.  I used to smirk at people who tape over their laptop webcams but now I consider them prophetic.  Thank you general brand blue painter's tape. Thank you for keeping my chiseled chest private.

Have a wonderful life

I would never imagine that one of my favorite songs from 1987 "Wonderful Life" by Black (Colin Vearncombe), would ever be in a place where the song's name is no longer recognized as "the song" from the eighties.
As of now, the English group "Hurts" (singer Theo Hutchcraft and synthesist Adam Anderson) is taking over the franchise for the title with their own iteration of "Wonderful Life".  Compare if you dare.

Black - Wonderful Life


Hurts - Wonderful Life

Lorde, Lorde look who's 17 and rocks the YouTube

The 17 year old Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996) aka Lorde, took over the airwaves and the web with the Royals awesomeness.  Below are the two versions of the song.  What I found interesting is how the US version sells, obviously cute, artist's image where the international version just tells the story.  Just a proof that cuteness sells.

The best cover of the Royals is performed by the Walk off the Earth group.  Very clever video and the presentation is interesting as well.  Doesn't that make you appreciate YouTube even more?  True artists can get out there and show what they can do.

Lorde - Royals (US Version)

Lorde - Royals (International Version)

Royals - Walk off the Earth

Dane Cook dished out a great stand-up in Chicago

If you like stand-up comedy, you already know comedian Dane Cook.  Ever since, I've watched his HBO special, I really wanted to see him performing life.  Guess what?  My wife surprised me with tickets to Chicago Theatre for one, and only Dane Cook show in Chicago, this past Sunday.

Dane Cook delivered!  He's new material called "Under Oath" was witty, funny, with great punch lines, and of course easily applicable in a relationship.  

I won't give up his jokes but one thing is certain,  he'll make a lot of people laugh.

After the show, Dane came out to sign autographs and take pictures.  There was about 100 people waiting for him and everyone got a chance to talk to him and have a great memento.

If you have a chance to see Dane Cook live, go for it, it's worth it.

Dane Cook with his fans

Yoann Lemoine aka Woodkid

Yes, I admit it, I've missed Gotye's hit song "Somebody That I Used To Know" by about a year.  Why?  Don't know. One thing I know is that Yoann Lemoine aka Woodkid won't escape my music taste.  Got hooked on "Run Boy Run". Woodkid is becoming bigger and bigger.  Check out the "Iron" also. Music reminds just rocks!

Speed cams in Chicago will soon grab your wallets?

Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, is finally getting his wish. Chicago is officially getting closer to installing the initial speed cameras at 50 locations by the end of 2013. According to Chicago Tribune, “state law allows Emanuel to install cameras at up to 300 locations in specially designated school and park zones” around Chicago.

The biggest surprise (not) is a recent test run by two competing vendors, ATS and Xerox State & Local Solutions, concluding the estimated revenue from the speeding tickets would exceed, wait for it, “well into the hundreds of millions of dollars in the program's first year”.

Emanuel's push for this huge revenue stream made everyone in the City Hall curious at first but now, everyone soaked their panties and some more. Reading about this cash grab, I sit there and wonder, why Chicagoans bend over and take it without a peep? Why not install a GPS systems in every car in Chicago and automatically withdraw weekly penalty from your checking accounts? It would be more cost effective.

What is wrong with you people? It's right there: revenue, cash stream, bring in, reap, millions of dollars. Nobody's taking about how many accidents will be avoided, how many kids will be saved, how many lives will be prolonged. Where are the pedestrian vs. car statistics? How will City Hall justify year after year of this new tax?

On the positive note, Emanuel's friends from Redflex Traffic Systems are persona-non-grata due to the bribery scandal with the red light camera program. I wonder who does the Mayor know at the ATS company?

You might call it a drive-through colonoscopy, but once again, Chicagoans got boned. This time with a camera tip light pole. And no, I'm not taking about a huge population of pale Poles in Chicago.

Happy Fassha Day

To all responsible fathers who take care of their families and try hard to raise respectful kids, Happy Fassha Day!

America’s Got Talent show taping in Chicago

Stage and the famous table

Tons of people showed up at the Rosemont Theatre for the taping of America's Got Talent Chicago.  And by tons, I mean thousands.  The tickets were free, yes free, and the crowd was psyched to see Heidi Klum, Scary Spice Girl Mel B., Howie Mandel, and of course, Howard Stern.

They taped two shows for three days.  I went on Thursday and was lucky to get a seat in the first row behind the judges table about twelve feet from Heidi Klum.  Yes, Heidi is a total lady.

The season's premiere is set for June 4th on NBC but we had a chance to see all the great and not so great performances live!

The biggest surprise was a black guy with dreads who was about the sing.  Everyone expected some modern cover song or some rapping but the guy actually performed "Granada" opera song.  And he was fantastic!

Howie Mandel had the best comment, “You have performed like a black Pavarotti, a Blackarotti!” Needless to say, the guy advanced.

The other surprise was a group of dancers who juggled and tossed wooden rifles ten feet into the air.  Perfection and precision was rewarded and they advanced as well.  The dancers wore very tight and revealing black spandex costumes with long capes so it was no surprise that Howie cracked another comment, “The performance had the perfect combination of difficulty, skill, and even a slight touch of camel toe!”  The ladies in the group automatically covered their groin area, it was hilarious.

Then, there was this wedding singer aka standup comedian whose performance sucked proverbial tea bags.  The whole theater booed him ten seconds into his lame routine.  The guy just didn't want to clear the stage.  The audience was just annoyed and even Howie couldn't put down the fire.  The guy was axed but Howard Stern really took his time explaining why the jokes sucked and perhaps sticking to the weddings was the best outlet for the guy.  The lesbian group labia majora aficionado actually kept it professional.  Keep it cool Howard!

Another fail was some Chi-town drag queen with his two minions dressed in black spandex.  Btw, what's up with the black spandex lately?  It's unflattering to the ladies and over bulging for the guys.  The skit totally blew.  What kind of a drag queen are you if you can't dance and sing?  Birdcage anyone?  Rejected.

By then, everyone was ready for some electrifying performance.  The next crew looked awesome: two guys in Halo armor with compressed air rifles, one on stilts, four girls with hard hats, metal chest and groin plates, welding goggles, swinging metal grinders.  What’s not to like?  Wrong.  The idea was great for an industrial rave party but not really worth a million dollars grand prize.  Rejected.

Finally, the act worth watching involved juggling and a Molotov’s cocktail on a balloon.  It was impressive and the juggler advanced.  The table was amazed.

There were some others but you will have to watch the show on TV to find out who passed and who failed.

Overall, America’s Got Talent was a total blast.  Everyone had a great time and we had a chance to see and talk to some interesting celebrities.  If AGT tapes in your city don’t miss it, you will have a great time.  Check out some of the pics from the show.  Comment on your favorite performer.

Heidi from behind

Table getting ready for a break

Howie, Mel B, and Heidi

Some makeup at the table

Mel B with Heidi Klum

Scary Spice – Mel B

People waiting before the show

Rosemont Theatre

Dead giveaway by Charles Ramsey

You can always count on Cleveland for a good story.  America was shocked by the discovery of three missing women found allegedly enslaved in one of the houses in Cleveland by three Puerto Rican Castro brothers.  Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight are free now thanks to a new American hero: Charles Ramsey.

Charles Ramsey deserves a lot of credit for being a concern fella in the neighborhood of who-cares-if-there-are-chained-naked-women-in-that-house.  Bill Gates, this is your guy!  How about rewarding Mr. Ramsey for his cojones.

 

Werewolf and department store discounts

The Twilight Saga movies became something comparable to the Star Wars Saga or Lord of the Rings Saga. Story about Bella and her adventures with the blood thirsty vampires and cuddly werewolves are here to stay.

One big question remains: Do werewolves get discounts on clothes at department stores?

After Jacob Black rips his clothes up eight times a day to turn into a werewolf, where does he get his new outfit? Does he have a Macy's baggie stashed away in the woods to quickly pop on some jeans and a cotton v-necks?

Perhaps, local Kohl's sponsors his escapades by providing seventy five matching sets of khakis and flannel shirts?

Or, he just visits a second hand store to save some money.  But wait, Jacob Black looks like a GAP commercial so it must be the discounts for werewolves.  BTW, is there a discount on chewing toys at the pet shops?  Because that would fall into the young werewolf category as well.

PSY is a true Korean gentleman

After the worldwide sensation "Gangnam Style", PSY cooked up another hit titled "Gentleman".  Yes, there are new moves associated with the song.  No choice but to learn a new dance after becoming proficient in "Gangnam Style".  Wedding DJs will be psyched. Pun absolutely intended.

Will the new song ease the tensions between North Korea and South Korea?  Perhaps Kim Jong-un could bust a move instead of busing a nuke?  Or, maybe North Koreans finally revolt against their butterball leader after realizing how much fun they've been missing all those years.

Undeniably, the song is a hit already.  At the time of this post, there are 6,901,112 YouTube hits already.  Go PSY!

UPDATE : 4/18/13   As of today, the video was watched 152,511,885 times! WOW!

UPDATE: on May 8th, 2013, PSY received 300,526,367 hits!

Kapooya, kapooya!

Michelle Clark is becoming an instant YouTube celebrity with her hilarious "Kapooya. Kapooya!" line describing the hail storm.  It didn't take long for the YouTubers to come up with a song remix.

 

As expected, someone has already registered the kapooya.com and kapooyakapooya.com websites.  I just love American entrepreneurship!

Registered through: Cheap-DomainRegistration.com
Domain Name: KAPOOYA.COM
Created on: 21-Mar-13
Expires on: 21-Mar-15
Last Updated on: 21-Mar-13

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, LLC (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: KAPOOYAKAPOOYA.COM
Created on: 25-Mar-13
Expires on: 25-Mar-14
Last Updated on: 25-Mar-13

Dominican Republic immigrant claims $338 million Powerball lottery jackpot

We have another happy lottery winner!  The fourth-largest jackpot in the Powerball history was claimed by a 44-year-old immigrant from the Dominican Republic living in Passaic County, NJ.  Good for dude, your life won't ever be the same.  Snooki will be happy to party with you.

So how much will he take home?  If he decides to take lump sum payout, and who wouldn't, the winnings go down to $221 million.  Don't forget the tax.  The final sum would be around $152 million.  So, pretty much, the lottery and the state take half of his money.  Great.

It's still a lot of money and hopefully it will be used for good.

Eagle Liquor store where ticket was purchased, will receive $10,000 bonus cut.  That's all.  However, Pravin Mankodia who actually sold the ticket, is very happy for the customer.

Some interesting Twitter posts about the jackpot:

Paul R. La Monica ‏@LaMonicaBuzz7h

Okay. I'll 'fess up. I was in Jersey Saturday. I won #Powerball. Donating my winnings to Russian depositors in Cypriot banks. #sarcasm Ciao!

SI Girl Problems ‏@SIgirlproblem9 Mar

If I win #powerball, Dunkin Donuts better be delivering whatever size I want to my bedroom door.

NorthJerseybrk ‏@NorthJerseybrk8h

#POWERBALL WINNER: Congratulations to Pedro Quesada of #Passaic | More: (Photo by Monsy Alvarado / Staff) pic.twitter.com/llpbAknKdl

"Obama 2.0: The Road Ahead" at Viper Alley in suburban Lincolnshire

On March 14, 2013, Viper Alley in suburban Lincolnshire, IL, held a reception and a panel discussion titled: "Obama 2.0: The Road Ahead", sponsored by Chicago's AM560 The Answer  radio station.

The panel was hosted by the AM560 radio host Steve Cochrane, featuring former U.S. Representative, Joe Walsh, Illinois Policy Institute chairman, John Tillman, and talk radio host, Michael Medved.  The discussion was split into several parts addressing the questions of President Obama's policy during his second term in the office.

Cochrane, Medved, Tillman, Walsh

The highlights of the conversation are as follows:

On the immigration and the borders - Walsh's priority is to secure the borders before taking any action regarding the immigration reform.

On the Dream Act - Walsh accepts a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants only through a service in the military.  Tillman and Medved agree about the positive impact of the Dream Act.  Medved added that expelling young, college educated people who lived here since their childhood would be unfair and unwise, since America needs more educated people.  Tillman also confirmed that immigration was and is a huge part of the American life and success.

On the money - Cochrane brought up a common believe among middle class Americans that rich people hate poor people.  This misconception is slowly eating away the traditional thinking that anyone can succeed and become rich, achieving the American Dream.  Another strong point by Cochrane was to fix the tax code so the people can file their taxes in 10 minutes on one piece of paper.  Tillman argued that the middle class is being forced into dependence on the government because of taxes.  More taxed one pays, less money can be put away for a self-dependence later.  Medved was for a simple, flat tax with no loopholes.

On the guns - Tillman pointed out that since the federal government took over the mental health care from the states, the quality of the care dropped significantly allowing the patients to fall through the cracks and have access to firearms.  Medved added that the United States has about 1/10 of mental hospital beds comparing to the number in 1950s forcing the hospitals to release patients without a clear plan of a systemic mental care.

On energy - Medved wants the market to dictate which forms of the renewable energy will become a new standard.  Artificial government subsidies create too much dependence on hand outs.

On Obamacare - Walsh wants to repeal Obamacare entirely.  Tillman pointed out that voters and their representatives should not give up the fight because the options are still on the table.  Per Tillman, Obamacare is actually hurting the lower class citizens since it forces employers to limit the work hours to 30 hours a week to avoid the penalties, consequently forcing people to look for another part time job to make up the difference in pay.  Medved added that the best way to remove Obamacare is to limit the funding.

On foreign policy - Tillman asked where is the anti-war movement lately?  Medved added that Obama's foreign policy exposes a weak president.  Walsh pointed out that President Obama hasn't acquired the negotiation skills needed to maneuver in the international politics.

On 2016 presidential candidate - Couple names came up.  John Kerry or Joe Biden on the Democratic side.  Tillman and Walsh: Scott Walker.  Medved: Marco Rubio.

The panel took one question from the audience regarding a fair or consumption tax initiative.  Walsh and Medved are for flat tax.

Joe Walsh also announced starting his own radio show on AM560, right after Steve Cochrane's show.  Fans had a chance to sign Michael Medved's book.

So that's the short and sweet main points from the event.  If you have comments, I'd like to read it.  Thanks.

Michael Medved signing books.

Michelle Obama among other celebrities with hacked financial info

FBI is currently investigating a Russian website (see below) containing names, social security numbers, dates of birth, and credit reports of the first lady, Michelle Obama, and other celebrities and politicians.

The list includes: Kim Kardashian, Joe Biden, Robert Mueller (FBI Director), Hillary Clinton, Eric Holder (U.S. Attorney General), Charlie Beck (LAPD Chief), Mel Gibson, Ashton Kutcher, Jay Z, Beyonce, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Sarah Palin, Hulk Hogan, Donald Trump, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Al Gore, Kanye West, Kris Jenner, Stacia Hylton (U.S. Marshals Service Director), Mitt Romney, Tiger Woods.
Huffingtonpost reports more details about how the hackers accessed the information:

UPDATE 4:19 p.m. -- Equifax, one of the three credit reporting agencies, said Tuesday that hackers who allegedly posted sensitive data belonging to 17 celebrities and political figures obtained some of that information from a website that allows consumers to access their credit reports.
The hackers entered enough personal identifying information, or PII, on four of the alleged hacking victims to log-in as them on the site annualcreditreport.com and obtain their credit reports, which contain sensitive financial data and Social Security numbers, according to Timothy Klein, a spokesman for Equifax.

It's interesting that thousands of people have their information stolen every year without much attention from the media and the government.  The credit monitoring business seems to be the latest scam to make the people feel better about protecting their information.  Let's be honest: no level of security can protect your personal or financial information.  There is always a human factor and every information has its price.

Besides the lack of the true security protecting our data, reliance on the social security number to tie in all the information is the one of the worst ideas ever.  First of all, SSN wasn't designed to be a secure identifier for all Americans, it was intended for the social security checks when people retired.  Then, IRS jumped on the wagon, state agencies, credit card companies, background checks, insurance companies, and rest of the commercial world looking for an easy way to identify customers.

Second of all, how can we protect the personal information in the digital age?  We just can't.  Hacking, phishing, social networks - it's all design to expose as much data as possible.  Can biometrics help in protecting our information?  Perhaps, using such technology will help but again, there is a human factor.  What prevents some crook from establishing a fake credit check agency and have access to all the information anyway?  Remember Global Payments and the hacking scandal that exposed 1.5 million credit and debit card numbers?  I will not even mention hundreds of other incidents.

Bottom line: if it's so easy to hack the First Lady and the Vice President, where do we go from here?  Putting pressure on the government and the companies to design a better security scheme would be a way to go.  For now, you can freeze your credit with all three major credit companies for a small fee to protect the release of your data.  Switching to one credit card and cash is another idea.  Keeping your passwords stronger is a must.  Above all, stay smart with whom you trust when providing your personal data.

The Hangover 3 official trailer

It's finally here! The Hangover 3 official trailer. The Wolf-pack is going back to Las Vegas to give it one more try. Will it top the original movie? I hope so, because the second one, in Thailand, wasn't that great at all. Feast your eyes on the new crazy adventures.

Sequester this and sequester that

Lately, the word sequester is the most overused word in the United States.  Another example of a catch phrase of the day.  Lockbox anyone?  WMDs anyone?  It's all smoke and mirrors again. 

Even worst word, sequestration, sounds like castration.  Yes, it's like removing the balls of the economy.  Or is it?  What jobs will be really affected?  Time will tell us. 

Right now, my bet is: life will go on and the impact of the budget cuts won't be as dramatic as painted by both Republicans and Democrats.  Why?  Because all that talk about economy collapsing and huge impact on the markets was just a vessel to our packets to extort more money by another tax.  I will leave it at that.

Some articles:
New York Post
Washington Post

Time travel: back in time or into the future?

Last night, my nine year old son, asked me a simple yet baffling question: If you could time travel and had to choose between going back in time and going into the future, what would you choose?

Simple question with enormous consequences of your choice.  

For starters, let's establish some ground rules of the time travel based on the solid scientific knowledge drawn from the top 50 time travel movie hits.  My picks include only the movies I've seen, sorted by likeness.  Also, the assumption is that you could come back after your time jump.

Groundhog Day (1993) - my all time favorite movie with Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell based on the famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.  The movie was actually filmed not far from Chicago, in Woodstock, Illinios.  The bed and breakfast manor was actually for sale couple of years ago.  
Rules: there are no rules or consequences 

The rosiest, make-you-feel-good time travel trilogy with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd:
Back to the Future (1985)
Back to the Future Part II (1989)
Back to the Future Part II (1990)
Rules are simple: you need a DeLorean with flux capacitor, any change will affect the future.

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) - first movie of the Austin Powers trilogy starring Mike Myers, Heather Graham, Elizabeth Hurley, Seth Green, and Mini-Me, Verne Troyer.
Rules: you can travel into the future in cryonic state, you keep your mojo.

Planet of the Apes (1968) - this one is a classic with the great Charlton Heston and awesome special effects.
Rules: you need a spacecraft with hibernation technology, respect the monkey.

The Butterfly Effect (2004) - without a doubt, this movie makes you think about the consequences of your actions, heavy flick but Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart are great in it.
Rules: to change the future, you must change the past, your actions affect lives of people you love.

12 Monkeys (1995) - who doesn't like Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, and Brad Pitt in this disturbing hit? The movie brings a lot of questions regarding our actions that destroy the future.
Rules: you can't bring any technology with you to the past or the future, unreliable time travel, hit or miss destinations.

Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) - the best movie when it comes to fixing your present time.  Your knowledge of the history, technology, and music can pay off nicely.
Rules: you need a magic hot tub with Russian energy drink, steal any idea from the future.

Timecop (1994) - he's no Bueller, but Jean-Claude Van Damme fights for his true love played by Mia Sara. 
Rules: you need a high-tech delivery system and, apparently, your own power plant. Change your future with no regrets.


Deja Vu (2006) - Denzel Washington is just good.  Even when it comes to time travel.
Rules: you can only affect the past four days, limited travel

Looper (2012) - Bruce Willis just likes time travel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt figures our the paradox, and I just like Emily Blunt.
Rules: you need friends at Triad to access the time travel capsule, you can take technology and metal with you.

The Philadelphia Experiment (1984) - movie is based on the actual US Navy experiments during WWII.
Rules: you need a giant destroyer

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1988) - besides Keanu Reeves, how come Alex Winter and George Carlin didn't get the Matrix roles?
Rules: you need a phone booth and you can bring/take anything/anyone from the past 

Finally, the Terminator saga started by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton.
The Terminator (1984)
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
Terminator Salvation (2009)
Rules: you can only travel to the past, you can't take any weapons, I guess you would need to be a mighty hacker to actually change anything related to Skynet.

It looks to me that travel to the past is a more efficient way of changing your future, meaning present time.  So, I will go with traveling to the past.  Of course, I would choose the time travel technology that would allow me to take a laptop or some almanac to play the stock market or build a web search engine UberNoogle.  The possibilities are endless and your imagination could run wild.  

As for my son, remember: all you need to change your future, is to make smart choices in your life and the good things will happen.  I know you will.  Tata.

The hidden truth behind mass food production in America

If you care about the food-related health issues in America, you must read below articles. By the health issues, I mean obesity, coronary disease, hypertension, high blood pressure, diabetes, hypersensitivity, and other food-related issues. By America, I mean the United States of America. Thanks Mike and Moira for sharing those articles.

I urge you to read it whole. It’s amazing. And by amazing, I mean WTF!

The New York Times: The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food
100 Days of Real Foods: Food Babe Investigates: How Food Companies Exploit Americans with Ingredients Banned in Other Countries

One comment. If you indulge in junk or processed foods, you better save those receipts because my suspicion is that in the near future, the class action suits against major food corporations and fast food chains will follow. Just my 2 cents.

Government is not hurting the economy – service economy it’s hurting itself

The Washington Post article by Ezra Klein, “Government is hurting the economy – by spending too little“, brought to my attention by my friend Michael, attempts to convince us that the government spending is the key to the robust economy. The statistics seem to work in Mr. Klein’s favor. The government spends less, the economy dunks.

Source: Der Spiegel 5/11/12

We all know, the statistical data can be interpreted in dozen different ways. One obvious conclusion from this article is the increased dependence of the service economy on the government spending. Just take a look at the Der Spiegel graph showing the correlation between the national debt, manufacturing jobs, and foreign trade deficit. Loosing well-paying factory jobs leads to an increasingly unstable service economy.

Want a proof? Why would a real estate bubble affect the US economy in such a devastating way? No, it’s not because of the foreclosures but because of the lost construction jobs in both residential and commercial markets. Housebuilding is one of the last, true manufacturing niches that remain in the US. Of course, until, someone in China develops an inexpensive way to build modular homes and ship them with ready-to-assemble manuals.

The basic foundation of Mr. Klein’s article if simply misleading. How is the “government” founded? Government this and government that. Government would not exist without OUR money. So really, we are already spending the money and helping the economy, except, in the confiscatory manner.

Is the private sector without a fault? Of course not! shipping thousands of jobs abroad to raise profits for selected few, killed the internal balance of making and spending money by the middle class (if such still exist). Service economy will never be able to fill the gap left by the heavy industry.

US government to the rescue. The interconnected paths of the private and government spending is becoming more and more important to the economy. With the federal government spending our money in every possible way, no wonder private companies look up to the mighty uncle Sam to throw them a bone. Cash for clunkers anyone? Electric vehicle credits? Military contracts? Shovel-ready jobs? Everyone jumps on those government contracts.

So the real question is, how can US survive without the artificial government spending? The larger slice of the economy is overtaken by the government, the more risky the economy becomes. PIIGS countries anyone?
Unfortunately, once the government starts growing without a control, going back is almost impossible without an unpopular and devastating cuts. By the same token, there is a limit of taxation by the government. How much tax confiscation will take for people to revolt? Learning from Gerard Depardieu and Nicolas Sarkozy, about 75%.

Finally, I would read Mr. Klein’s post as a warning and a lesson. If we continue to depend on the government spending, let’s just nationalize the economy and stop pretending that our current system is a pure capitalistic ever-profit-giving golden goose. Perhaps Mr. Obama should put aside the popular replacement issues (healthcare, immigration) and concentrate on what’s the most important at the time – our wallets.

Manti Te’O: Top 10 list of new names

Story of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Manti Te’O (MAN-tie TAY-oh) fake girlfriend, Lennay Kekua (leh-NAY kay-KOO-ah), took over the American media like an undocumented immigrant taking over roofing jobs in Chicago.  Of course, we don’t buy his explanation of a practical joke orchestrated by his “friend” Ronaiah Tuiasosopo (roan-EYE-ah Too-eee-ah-suh-SO-po).

Those pesky Hawaiians have their revenge for taking over Hawaii by the United States in 1893 and overthrowing Queen Liliʻuokalani, born Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamakaʻeha. Easy for you to pronounce it. Ha.

Obviously, Manti had high hopes for boosting his career. The near future will show if NFL turns a blind eye on this dent in his resume.

Oh, screw waiting, yes, the guy will make ton of money and he will laugh all the way to his gold plated ATM in his new Lamborghini. There.

In case Manti Te’O needs to change his name to accelerate his career ever further, here’s the top 10 list of new names.

1. Wrongtie Yell’O
2. Lanai Spray’O
3. Manshy Hands’O
4. Taipei Pa’O
5. Gentile Tov’O
6. Meatpie Beat’O
7. Turdfly Lam’O
8. Moontie YoYo
9. Mantie Thong’O
10. Bowtie Telltal’e

Gun debate served on a gun sandwich

After all the shootings and the outraged public, president Obama decided to take action signing 23 executive orders to curb gun violence. See the White House list below:

1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system.

2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system.

3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system.

4. Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks.

5. Propose rulemaking to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun.

6. Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.

7. Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign.

8. Review safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product Safety Commission).

9. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.

10. Release a DOJ report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and make it widely available to law enforcement.

11. Nominate an ATF director.

12. Provide law enforcement, first responders, and school officials with proper training for active shooter situations.

13. Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.

14. Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence.

15. Direct the Attorney General to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies and challenge the private sector to develop innovative technologies.

16. Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes.

17. Release a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities.

18. Provide incentives for schools to hire school resource officers.

19. Develop model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education.

20. Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover.

21. Finalize regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within ACA exchanges.

22. Commit to finalizing mental health parity regulations.

23. Launch a national dialogue led by Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan on mental health.

As responsible adults, we can all agree that those are very important changes dealing with the increasing gun violence. However, the core of the shootings and killings are committed by criminals. Yes South Side Chicago, that's you as well. 

With all those knee-jerk laws dealing with a long overdue problems, those executive orders are essentially worthless. 

Why? Because with 270,000,000 private weapons in the United States (www.gunpolicy.org), the real issue behind the gun violence is the criminal underground. And what criminals do? Yes, they don't care about any laws. 

Let me illustrate this UberNibbler style with the gun sandwich. Usually, the general population responds better to visual aids. So bite on this.

As you can see, the legal gun owners are the squeezed cheese and the crazies are a baloney. So you can issue as many executive orders or new laws as you want – they won’t solve the problem. BTW, Congress, get to work already. Enough with the party line this and party line that nonsense. We are the people and we demand real actions from the Congress and the States. Get to the bottom of the violence: poor areas, uneducated people, lack of jobs, lack of support, single-parent families. Heal the society and you will disarm the violence. 

Like what you see? Spread the sandwich. Where’s Jared Fogle when you need him?