Bing And Yahoo… Microsoft Didn’t Buy Yahoo, Did They?

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I have been noticing that the searches I do on Bing come up with the exact… and I do mean EXACT same results as Yahoo. I know Microsoft wanted to buy them, but I think what they’re doing is trying to just phase them out. They are taking Yahoo’s search results and presenting them in a more aesthetically pleasing method. This has always been MS’s forte, actually. They make the product better.

If you watch infomercials, you see products that are at the dollar store being repackaged and sold for a higher price. All you need is a good hook. Take for instance that acrylic ball. The commercial makes the ball look like it can float, but it’s really just a clear acrylic ball. They have someone play with it like David Bowie in Labyrinth and people buy it for what? $20?

When I first saw the commercial, I almost bought one for my nephew, thinking it was a new technology. I did some research and found out it was just a ball.

Anyway, I think MS is trying to devalue Yahoo so that they can buy it for pennies on the dollar. You have to admire their business savvy, even if you hate them. I personally like big business, hoping that I could have that type of success. If you open a mom and pop store and don’t want to make any money, then you can criticize big business. If you advertise and want your business to grow, then even on a small scale, you are following big business’ plan. When you open a business, you are taking away customers from other shops. So, is a mom and pop store the same evil as WalMart?

Wizard Of Oz Slot Machines

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Ok, I am not addicted.

BUT…

I love the Wizard Of Oz slot machines! The first one I saw was in Vegas. These are very high-tech machines with chairs that have surround sound built in, and the seats almost vibrate. I read somewhere that they cost around $100,000 each.

There are several versions:

On one of the machines, you have flying monkey bonus, an emerald city bonus, and Glinda comes up and makes some of the reels wild. To get this machine to do the bonus stuff consistently, you have to play 30 lines.

Another machine has bonus character reels. It’s called Ruby Slippers. I like this one the best-it’s very colorful and there’s lots of video mixed in. To get this machine to do anything, they want you to play 40 lines.

There are also several variations that have actual reels, but the glass in front has video, so this one is interesting because of the mixed media. The minimum bet on these is 40 cents. You get 40 lines, though.

Prince Poppycock

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Sigh… A kindred spirit. Nothing is “too much”. Fashion knows no pain.

It’s rare that I like a male singer, but when the package is interesting, I take notice. Prince Poppycock is this package.

He appeared on America’s Got Talent and went all the way to the finals. If you take apart his act, you will see that not only is he a great singer, but a very talented artist as well. The makeup skills are flawless. He came up with some beautiful sets and costumes.

I ran across a news story yesterday that stated that he would be the Grand Marshall in West Hollywood’s Pride parade and I had never heard of him, but the picture intrigued me. I ran a search on youtube and was blown away! This was the most “designed for me” artist I had ever seen. I appreciate opera and so the mix of drag and opera was astounding.

Check out his site and get the music. It’s whatever price you want to pay for it. An interesting concept!

http://www.princepoppycock.com

Prince Poppycock

Prince Poppycock

Will Smith/Willow Smith “Whip My Hair Back And Forth”

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I have never been a big fan of rap. I remember Will Smith from the Fresh Prince Days, though, and even back then his “Parents Just Don’t Understand” was not offensive. It was “safe rap”. I respect Will Smith for creating non-violent, non-misogynistic, non cursing rap. He once said in an interview that he did that so that his children wouldn’t be exposed to it. He is one of the most sought after actors in Hollywood, and that shows you that you don’t have to be nasty to get ahead.

So, his daughter comes out with this song, “Whip My Hair Back And Forth”. I imagined from the title that every drag queen on earth would be doing the tune at the bars. When I started the song, though, I was greeted with a squeaky high child voice repeating over and over “I whip my hair back and forth”. I wasn’t really liking it, but I kept it going to see if it got better. The verse came and her voice was great! It sounded like Rihanna (spelling?). Very mature voice. I listened to the rest of the song. I have to say it’s an ok song. It’s not something I’d listen to again, though. The one thing I do respect is that it’s more of Will’s signature “safe rap”.

The video has an interesting concept-she dips her braids into paint and colors a colorless world around her. Very 80s! (UPDATE: I just watched The Mighty B! from 2008 and there is a scene where a girl dips her hair in paint and slings it on a canvas. So, I am less impressed now. sigh…)The shaky camera thing is a bit much, but as it neared the end, I noticed one of the dancers doing the death fall or whatever it’s called. I recognized the move from the sequel to Paris Is Burning from around 2005. This move is amazing and the trannies in the movie turned it out! And, yes, I attempted the move and snapped both knees out of place.

I looked a little closer and saw that it looked like the tranny from America’s Next Best Dance Group (MTV/Randy Jackson)! I yahoo’ed it and saw that it was her! It’s too bad they didn’t show her more in the video. I actually think the song came from one of the moves she did on the show.

So here’s the video-enjoy!

As The Earth Turns

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I have always been fascinated by the effect of the earth turning and what would happen if it suddenly stopped. This has led to many questions I have on how things function with such force being placed on them.

Here’s my theory:

If the earth suddenly stopped spinning, the weight of people would increase dramatically. You know those rides at the fair that spin you around while you’re laying on an incline? Your blood rushes to your head and you start moving up. Imagine that is the earth’s gravity. When it stops, you come back down and feel your weight again. So your weight right now is determined by how close you are to the center of the earth. If you are on a mountaintop, you weigh less than at sea level. That’s a fact. So, when the spin is taken out of the equation, you would weigh even more. It might even be enough to crush you.

When I flew to London, it took longer to get there than it did to get back. Why? The earth was spinning under the plane in the same direction I was going to London, so I was trying to “catch up” to the destination. Flying to a destination would become a lot quicker in the eastern direction, and a lot slower in the western direction.

When you’re driving east, you are going against the force of the earth, so your vehicle uses more energy.

If you want to burn more calories, walk east.

If you’re having problems sleeping, it might be because you are laying in the wrong direction. If you’re laying with your head pointing east, your feet are getting more blood.

If I remember correctly, the earth spins at 2400 miles per hour, so before you poo poo my theory, take that into consideration.

Let’s say the earth stops spinning SUDDENLY. That would throw everyone east at 2400 miles per hour. Needless to say, I doubt if very many people would survive this. The oceans would sweep over every bit of land. Maybe that’s what happened in the noah’s arc flood. Buildings would tear away from their foundation and fly. Basements would be the only places that would stay in place, but if you’re thrown against the basement wall at 2400 mph, you won’t survive. I would imagine that people on large ships might survive the initial stop, but the ocean would be thrown over land at such force that the ship would be torn apart upon reaching shore.

Maybe if you’re in some sort of “ball” that allowed you to stay upright, you might survive by slowly coming to a stop, rolling across the landscape. But, there again, 2400 mph, you will reach some sort of hill or valley and abruptly stop.

Would we be thrown into space? The force might be great enough to send everyone flying out into space.

I’d like to see some models of what would happen. If you know of any shows that theorize this, let me know!

By the way, no, I don’t drink or use drugs. LOL

Worried About The Boy Movie BBC

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I just found out about and watched the movie, “Worried About The Boy” from the BBC. It’s the life story of Boy George from teenager up until he was addicted to heroin in 1986. I really liked George in the 80s and continued to be a fan until I saw a concert in Raleigh in 1995 and he said, “Some of you are on sort of an 80’s pilgramage, well, the 80’s are over! O-V-A-H over!

I was taken aback by someone dissing the very reason that they had any success. I was offended by his comment enough to stop following his every move. I remained somewhat of a fan, though. I loved all the old music. In the 90’s, he apparently decided it was safe to “come out” and almost every song was about gay this or straight that and way too political for my pop tastes.

Anyway, I watched this movie and was astounded on how good it was, how good the actors were, how perfect they got the make-up and hair and the “feel” of the 80’s! The director added some titles to indicate the time and place and who over certain scenes and I LOVED the effect! Really impactful. It actually took me back to Hedwig And The Angry Inch’s titles, which weren’t as prolific, but great in their own right.

The actor who played Jon Moss was someone from Catherine Tate’s show (which I adored!) and he looked JUST LIKE Jon! It was uncanny! The guy playing George was a little too…. modern, but passable. He had Angelina Jolie lips, so I didn’t like them, but they toned them down. The costumes and hair and makeup were absolutely stunning!

This got me thinking that if we had had digital cameras in the 80’s like we have today, we would have had more looks and fashion documented. The 80’s were about freedom to wear whatever and look any way you wanted. The more outrageous the better! One thing about the fashion industry is that the wildest things go down the runways, but it gets pared down to “normal” looks when it gets to ready to wear stuff. That’s why things like Lady Gaga’s meat dress won’t be on your back any time soon, but it makes an impact on the industry. (A bacon tie?)

The crap that’s put up on youtube indicates that if there had been such an outlet in the 80’s, it would have been bigger than anyone could have imagined!

Back to the movie. Sad, at times. Happy, at times. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it and wanted more after it was over…O-V-A-H, over!

I forgave George a while back, but never bought anything else he did. He’s into techno and DJ’ing now, so all of his songs sound alike.

Which leads me to formulas…. if you have a formula-take for instance, George’s sweet ballads, why not stick with it? Make non-gender-specific love songs and sell tons of them!

As a songwriter, myself, I know that harsh emotion makes for the best songs, so I know why George can’t write like he used to. The turmoil shown in the movie was based on truth and it brought back some of my painful emotions from the 80’s as well. At a certain age, I have found that things that used to affect us isn’t as important.

One more thing about the movie… the sets, the extras, everything, was so real it felt like a documentary! Sometimes, when people make 80’s flashback movies, they tend to overdo the hair or makeup, and yes, it was about excess and extreme back then, but it was a controlled extreme. It was done with purpose.

I don’t think the movie is made for U.S. DVD players, but if you have the ability to watch it on a PAL player, I would suggest it. Amazon.co.uk carries it.

Botero

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I ate at a Colombian restaurant yesterday and they had Botero prints on the wall and I was reminded of how much I like this guy’s style. I haven’t seen any of his stuff other than the normal people scenes-or so I thought. I liked this picture so much that I decided to see if I could find it on the net in high definition:

When I typed in BING, “Botero”, I realized that I have seen (and liked) a lot more of his work than I thought! I thought this was old art until I saw a painting he did of the torture of the prisoners in Iraq. His sculptures are amazing! I found my favorite:

So, now that I am producing 3D images, I am going to try a couple of his pieces to see how they turn out. I will update this post when (and if) I get around to the attempt.