Five Great Concerts to Catch in 2011

 One of the best things about any new year is all the great concerts that are just around the corner. A lot of popular bands and artists are touring this year, so here are five great concerts you should catch:

    Eric Clapton. Some people get better with age. Eric Clapton is definitely one of them. The English bluesman-cum-rocker released his last CD last fall (simply titled Clapton) and he's now touring in support of it. In 2011, Clapton will hit big venues in Portland, Sacramento, and Las Vegas before heading over to the U.K. Be sure to check out a gig so you can hear classics like "Layla" and "Crossroads" played the way they were meant to be played: live.
    Rush. It seems like this Canadian band has been around forever with hits dating back to the 1970's but guess what? They're still going strong and are quite possibly more popular than ever. The band's classic songs "Tom Sawyer" and "Spirit of the Radio" are still played on the radio and the guys appeared in the 2009 film I Love You, Man.. This year finds the trio hitting the road for another leg of their successful Time Machine tour with stops in Austin, Los Angeles, and The Gorge, Washington among other places. Check them out if they come to a town near you. They're fantastic live.
    Katy Perry. Katy Perry, everyone's favorite pop chanteuse, will play some of her biggest hits when she hits the stage this summer. Thanks to her unique look and popular, chart-topping such songs as "Teenage Dream" and "Hot and Cold," Katy's shows promise to be great. Katy will begin her tour in the U.K. and will hit North America in June with gigs in Boston, Toronto, Denver, and Vancouver, B.C. Hit one of her shows if you're in the mood for great pop music.

10 of the Most Popular Country Singers of All Time

 

George Jones

Carter family

 

Hank_Williams

 Jimmie Rodgers

When it comes to the listing the top ten country singers, you are in for a herculean task. No one can really say that one singer is better than the other as this is a subjective thing. Everyone tries to come up with lists and hoping to seek the approval of the people who will be reading it.

1. Hank Williams - He is the one who introduced the honky tonk style to the country music world. Others dubbed him as one of the greatest hillbilly music singers for all time.

2. George Jones - Just like the other hillbilly music singers, Jones earned his spot in the music industry by having a long list for his hit records. "No show Jones" was his nickname for his failure to show up in many performances.

3. Roy Acuff - This singer is best known by his fans as the "King of Country Music." He was the one who showed the world the "hoedown" format which eventually captured the international market. Acuff is the first living person to be inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Famous Genres of Haitian Music

The history of Haiti music can be traced many years back; the Haiti music has gradually evolved over time to its present form. The early Haitian musicians have improved over time, making spectacular performances and thus the surging preference of Haitian music videos all over the world. New outstanding musicians have come up in the Haitian community pushing live Haitian music to the next level through staged live performances in many parts of the world.

Rap Kreyo is a popular Haiti music genre. Many Haitian musicians who specialize in rap music genre have passed through rough childhood with very poor living conditions. As a result of this many rappers address social economic issues in the Haiti community. The aspects of Haiti community that are addressed in the rap songs by renowned Haitian musicians include slum life, poverty and violence. Among the musicians in Haiti, Master Dji is very famous as he was the first singer to release the first Haitian rap song in 1980s. Many young members of the Haitian community have been influenced by the famous musicians to become rappers and this explains why Haitian musicians are ranked as the leading rap stars that are globally recognized.

Occupy v The Summer of Love

"A truly free, democratic, and just society where we, the people, come together and solve our problems by consensus. Where people are encouraged to take personal and collective responsibility and participate in decision making. Where we learn to live in harmony and embrace principles of toleration and respect for diversity and the differing views of others. Where we secure the civil and human rights of all from violation by tyrannical forces and unjust governments. Where political and economic institutions work to benefit all, not just the privileged few. Where we provide full and free education to everyone, not merely to get jobs but to grow and flourish as human beings.Where we value human needs over monetary gain, to ensure decent standards of living without which effective democracy is impossible.Where we work together to protect the global environment to ensure that future generations will have safe and clean air, water and food supplies, and will be able to enjoy the beauty and bounty of nature that past generations have enjoyed".


The "Summer of Love" in 1967 was a social phenomenon that occurred during the summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 people converged on the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, thus initiating a major cultural and political shift. At that time the USA also saw some of the worst violence in its history because of the race riots/insurrections that occurred in places such as Detroit and Newark. 


Fast forward 43 years and we have the Occupy Movement. Initially Occupy Wall Street was initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters,and partly inspired by the Arab Spring, especially Cairo's Tahrir Square protests, and the Spanish Indignants.


2 Great seismic cultural shifts both claiming peace and fairness whilst juxtaposed on a backdrop of violence and intimidation.  Below is a video recounting violence at Occupy Oakland in California which occurred from both protesters and Police. 

It's quite clear to me that the Human spirit is unable to be bossed, corralled, controlled and nannied - the Orwellian control grid that is being erected around us will not be successful. Humanity will ultimately flourish with Love, Peace, Creativity and freedom, as that surely is our natural state.


The use of violence is the last refuge of the oppressor - look at what is happening in Syria right now. Did you even realize that in the last century alone, Governments of the world killed over 250 million people in order to "control us" and they still keep on doing it?   And yet here we are - still protesting! 


The simple answer is for humanity to say no - refuse to be intimidated and surround ourselves with peace. Sounds easy but with the dogs barking at the gates it is hard to do. Laugh at them, ignore them and stay focused because the other way does not bear thinking about...


My adopted Town of Traverse City is a beautiful place and we want to keep it that way. It may surprise you to know that we have our own peaceful Occupy movement. Nobody is camping out in the park (to cold this time of year lol)  but it is all about occupying hearts and minds with a message - that's all. Perhaps by occupying our own hearts and minds with the message at the beginning of this post -  life could be a whole lot better?

  

WWE Raw 2012-2-6

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Format:  Avi

This one caught my eye (4 short vids in all)... Here we have a guy trying to make his mortgage payment at a branch of the Bank of Amerika America - in cash - and they wont accept it!

It gets a little messy and the Bank calls the cops. Ok, so you might say that the guy who shot the video is seeking attention and is the author of his own misfortune - but the fact remains that the bank wont accept legal tender cash money in payment of a mortgage - wow!!!

I though would have written out a notice and left the cash on the desk in the branch, what would they do - just leave it there? I think not. Would they call the cops and say "this is the bank and some dude has shown up and left $1,400 in payment of a mortgage loan on a desk here and we don't want it?" I guess even the cops would find that one strange, but there we are - even the criminal banks wont touch cash now.

The "if you've got nothing to hide you have nothing to fear" mantra/paranoia that is everywhere in officialdom now means you can't pay with cash only policed electronic currency - your financial privacy no longer exists.

Welcome to America, Land of the Free Home of the Brave! Does anyone really believe that BS anymore?

Chronicle (2012)

Director: Josh Trank
Writers: Max Landis (screenplay), Max Landis (story), and 1 more credit
Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Michael Kelly and Alex Russell

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2012)

Director: Stephen Daldry
Writers: Eric Roth (screenplay), Jonathan Safran Foer (novel)
Stars: Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock

Man on a Ledge (2012)

Director: Asger Leth
Writer: Pablo F. Fenjves
Stars: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks and Jamie Bell

Playback (2012)

Director: Michael A. Nickles
Writer: Michael A. Nickles
Stars: Christian Slater, Ambyr Childers and Toby Hemingway

Director: Mike Flanagan
Writer: Mike Flanagan
Stars: Katie Parker, Courtney Bell and Dave Levine

Few Options (2012)

Director: George A. Pappy Jr.
Writer: George A. Pappy Jr. (original screenplay)
Stars: Kenny Johnson, Erin Daniels and David Marciano

2-Headed Shark Attack (2012)

Director: Christopher Ray
Writers: Edward DeRuiter (story), H. Perry Horton (screenplay)
Stars: Carmen Electra, Charlie O'Connell and Brooke Hogan

Wuthering Heights (2012)

Director: Andrea Arnold
Writers: Andrea Arnold (screenplay), Emily Brontë (novel), and 1 more credit
Stars: Kaya Scodelario, Nichola Burley and James Howson

Gali Gali Chor Hai (2012)

Director: Rumi Jaffery
Writers: Rumi Jaffery, Mumukshu Mudgal
Stars: Mugdha Godse, Jagdeep and Annu Kapoor

Bamboo Mobile World's First Smartphone To Launch In UK

A high-end smartphone made largely from bamboo is set for launch in the UK later this year.

The unusual mobile has been created by 23-year-old Kieron-Scott Woodhouse, a design student at Middlesex University.

The device, called 'ADzero', has a casing made from hardened bamboo. Woodhouse said he is also looking at using bamboo in other parts of the product.

Woodhouse said: "Bamboo may seem like a strange material to use for a phone, but it's actually extremely strong and very durable, perfect qualities for this kind of application."

Though the final features of the phone have not yet been specified, Woodhouse told MSN Tech & Gadgets the ADzero will run the Android operating system and will "fall at the higher end of the Android market".

"Our current prototypes are running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and have specs that rival current market leaders," he added.

The phone's camera will also use an innovative feature called 'ring flash'. This uses a circular flash, which surrounds the camera's lens and is designed to ensure more even illumination of subjects.

A.D.
Woodhouse worked on the phone in his spare time during the final year of his design course, having become frustrated with the lack of variety in the mobile phone market.

After posting his creations on forums and websites, Woodhouse was approached by an investor who helped him set up a company to manufacture the phone.

Though the ADzero was initially intended for the Chinese market, the launch plans were changed after it proved a hit at London Design Week 2011.

The phone will now go on sale in the UK first, with Woodhouse's company A.D. hoping to sell it in 'design-aware' shops and boutiques. The launch is planned for later in 2012.

"The whole experience so far has been incredible and completely unexpected," said Woodhouse. "Completing my final year and working has been challenging, but my course and the project complement each other well and it's a great start of my career. I can't wait to see my mobile phone in shops this year."

Staying Alive (2012)

Director: Anant Mahadevan
Writer: Sujit Sen
Stars: Khan Jahangir Khan, Anant Mahadevan and Navni Parihar