ARTIST: Morrissey
TITLE: Years of Refusal
WEB DEBUT: Jan. 4, 2009
RELEASE DATE: Feb. 13, 2009

ONE-LISTEN VERDICT: Remember When I Was Cruel, the "back to his roots" rock album Elvis Costello put out a few years ago? Refusal sounds a lot like that, though of course Morrissey's roots are much gentler. The guitars are loud; the drums are pretty close to the red; the bass is distorted; there aren't a lot of filigrees, though the ones that are there are appreciated. Among the music cognoscenti, this isn't going to get a lot of attention probably, given its proximity to the shrill, blunt blarefest Pitchfork gave a 9.6 to this morning, but it deserves some. It sounds louder to me than the last Morrissey album (the ostensible rock one), but more than anything else, it sounds tight. The melodies are clear and direct, the songs get in and get out (5 of the 11 tracks are under 3 minutes), and Morrissey sings his ass off. The horns, children, strings, and theremin (?) work within the songs rather than outside them. When he finally breaks off for a ballad in the second half ("It's Not Your Birthday Anymore"), it sounds earned rather than boilerplate, and the track's mix of '80s synths, Marr-ish guitar, and gong gives way to a fair rager of a rock chorus. No idea if this will hold up a few years down the line (I listened to When I Was Cruel incessantly at the time, but have little interest now), but at the moment, it's a winner.

THE BEST TRACK: I'm a sucker for a leadoff track, and "Something Is Squeezing My Skull" doesn't disappoint. The arrangement manages to sound like the Smiths but aggressive, the way Moz's jumps to the final word of the title in the chorus gives me goosebumps, and the pharmaceutical list and refusal chant of the middle 8 barrels intro a practically ...Trail of Dead-like coda. Morrissey: He rocked my socks off.

Robyn, Lykke Li, and Karin Dreijer of the Knife are going to appear on the forthcoming album by fellow Scandinavians Royksopp, thus assuring that it will be the most-blogged-about album that has nothing to do with a certain collection of animals of the first half of 2009. [Billboard]

· It's all fun and games until tomorrow morning, when Matt Lauer interrupts a sober interview with a Palestinian spokesperson by shrieking, "I'm gonna be sick—there's a Richard Simmons-juice stain on this couch!"

· Lionsgate is buying TV Guide Network and TV Guide for $255 million; stay tuned for breathless press release announcing their rebranding as The Tyler Perry Network and Madea's Favorite TV Stories.
· Speaking of magical negros, here's everything you always wanted to know about them but were afraid to ask.
· Apple unveils the new Macbook Wheel. Ooh, shiny new toys! We want! We want!
· Sad news: veteran reality show producer Kathy Wetherell was killed in car accident in Arizona on December 20. Some of her credits included The Real World, The Bachelor, Flavor of Love, and Charm School.
· Nip/Tuck's sixth season premieres tomorrow, in which we'll be introduced to a fellow who'd like a Tyrannosaurus Prick-reduction. This could make for awkwardness among those of you who have recently moved back in with your parents.
· Bill O'Reilly is gay. (Also: His vagina is about 4 feet wide with razor sharp teeth.)

The bubble in social networking has burst, decisively. LiveJournal, the San Francisco-based arm of Sup, a Russian Internet startup, has cut about 20 of 28 employees — and offered them no severance, we're told.

The quirky site, part blog and part social network, is best known for its users' weird obsessions — like the troublesome clique of Harry Potter erotica writers, whose outré tastes ran afoul of LiveJournal's efforts to comply with U.S. child-pornography laws. (Oddly, the site also gained a following in Russia, which led to its acquisition by Sup.) All that adds up to an environment even more distasteful to advertisers than the typical social site.

The company's product managers and engineers were laid off, leaving only a handful of finance and operations workers — which speaks to a website to be left on life support. Matt Berardo, a Yahoo executive hired on last summer, is also believed to be gone.

The company's Moscow-based management has told employees it blames the "global economic downturn" — the kind of pat excuse every boss is giving for layoffs, even when mismanagement or a bad business plan is really to blame. The brutal, abrupt cuts suggest something different: That Sup founder Andrew Paulson (above), who paid an estimated $30 million for LiveJournal a little over a year ago, has realized his expensive mistake in buying at the top of the bubble. Someone familiar with the company tells us Paulson lost the CEO job last summer to Annelies van den Belt, a former News Corp. executive, and was given the meaningless title of chairman; he's essentially out of the company now.

Executives at Six Apart, the blog-software company which sold LiveJournal to Sup, are happily counting the money in its bank. And they should consider themselves lucky that Vox, the LiveJournal knockoff it started, hasn't been more popular. At this point, having a larger social network in the portfolio would be a drag on the company's value.

LiveJournal, founded by engineer Brad Fitzpatrick in 1999, predated most blogging services and social networks, and anticipated many of their features. (Some of Fitzpatrick's software is vital to the operation of Facebook and other large sites today.) But Fitzpatrick never figured out how to turn it into a business. Instead, he sold it to Six Apart, which didn't have much more luck.

The weakest in the herd are always the first to fall. Facebook and MySpace, so far, have resisted layoffs. A host of also-ran social networks — Hi5, MyYearbook, and other obscurities — could be next. It's only a matter of time before investors reach the same apparent conclusion as Paulson: that there's a lot of fuss in running a social network, but not that much money.

First clip: A CNBC reporter dishes outsidery snark about Apple's supposedly botched iPhone launch. Second clip: CNBC's Silicon Valley bureau chief guzzles the Apple Kool-Aid. Is this the same network?

CNBC's change of tune is a classic cautionary tale. Reporters trade favorable coverage for access to products and executives all the time. But Jim Goldman, the network's tech reporter, has turned access journalism into a cringe-inducing parody of itself.

When the iPhone launched in the summer of 2007, CNBC didn't get a review unit. NBC's Today show did, but a staged call between hosts Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer famously failed. Later that day, a CNBC reporter went on air for an On The Money segment and launched into a tirade about Apple's botched PR, its unshowered fanboys, and its trouble with the SEC over stock options. (That reporter was not Goldman, as we incorrectly reported in an earlier version of this post; Goldman tells us he was "livid" with the segment.) The rant was acidic, funny, over the top — and, for a cable-news network, shockingly accurate.

After that, CNBC insiders say, Apple's PR operatives called up executives at the network and threatened to cut off access for good. The show's producer was called onto the carpet, and soon afterwards left the network; to this day, many employees still believe he was fired under pressure from Apple. (He actually wasn't, but he told an acquaintance that the Apple incident left a bad taste in his mouth and hurried his exit.)

Goldman, on the other hand, has been carefully toeing the Apple line, and was rewarded last summer with a face-to-face interview with Jobs. The Apple CEO's scarily gaunt appearance was on everyone's mind, including Goldman's. But the subject never came up. Goldman later wrote that he was privately horrified by Jobs's "sickly" state but thought better of probing into it.

Which brings us to the latest Jobs health scare, which turned out to be well-based in fact. Goldman sputtered on air as he had to explain the denials he was spoonfed by Apple PR — and acted outraged when a coworker made a joke about Jobs's hormonal imbalance — the root of his weight loss — being like PMS.

And who wielded the spoon? Steve Dowling, Apple's top corporate flack under Katie Cotton, was Goldman's predecessor as CNBC's chief Silicon Valley correspondent. We hear he left the network on bad terms. If so, that surely made the revenge of turning his replacement into Apple's pet all the sweeter. Do you think that if Goldman's really nice, Dowling will hire him, too?

Firefox only (Windows/Mac/Linux): The Flickr Gallery Plus Firefox extension or Greasemonkey script make browsing galleries faster and easier in Flickr.

Once installed and set up, Flickr Gallery Plus automatically grabs larger versions of each image in a set so you can view each picture waiting for another page to load. It even turns sets into nice slideshows that fade between photos. Like to navigate photos from the keyboard? You can advance between images with the right and left keys.

If you're a Flickr junkie, Flickr Gallery Plus is a great add-on to view Flickr sets. For more spicy Flickr improvements, check out our very own Better Flickr Firefox extension. Flickr Gallery Plus is available in both Greasemonkey script form and as an experimental Firefox extension (that means it hasn't been vetted by the folks at Mozilla yet and you need to log in to download it), works wherever Firefox does. Photos by Qole Pejorian.

Google has officially released their popular photo management application Picasa for Macs, after years of offering Picasa as a free Windows download.

It's an exciting announcement for anyone who's looking for a good photo management app on OS X that isn't iPhoto or for anyone who's used and fallen in love with Picasa on Windows or Linux. This release still sports the beta tag, so you can expect a bug here or there, but overall it appears to boast most of the same features as its counterparts. That includes:

Photo Management

Picasa scans your entire computer for new photos and keeps them neatly organized, with great timeline features, tagging, and folder organization.

Image Editing

Picasa sports simple but impressive editing capabilities, including non-destructive editing of photos. The Mac version offers a few smart options for users looking to run both iPhoto and Picasa so that neither application stps on the other's toes.

Integration with Web Albums

Just like Picasa for Windows and Linux, Picasa for Mac offers seamless integration with Picasa Web Albums, Google's online photo sharing site.

Let's hear more specific thoughts in the comments.

Brand: Gurkha Cigars
Line: Signature 1887
Vitola: Red Rothchild (Toro); 6 x 55
Origin: Honduras
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Indian, Peruvian
Body: Mild-to-medium
Strength: Medium

I’ve been on a bit of a Gurkha kick lately. Sue me. Things could be much worse.

Anyway, I’ll just get right into the review. The Gurkha Signature Red 1887 and its maduro brother, the Gurkha Signature Black 1887, seem to be tough sticks to find, but I grabbed a couple of the Red at a recent herf, and I wasn’t disappointed.

The Signature 1887 has a good prelight draw and has a slightly sweet, nutty scent. The Connecticut Shade wrapper was smooth and silky without any rough patches or big veins. The cigar, which just looks like it would be spongy, was consistent and firm.

Burn wasn’t an issue with this stick at all, as the Gurkha Signature Red 1887 produced a solid stack of dark-gray ash. However, about a third of the way in, the draw got a bit tight, and the cigar was tough to smoke just until it hit its sweet spot.

I’m happy the draw opened back up. It was, as they say, luxurious. It was toasty and nutty, with hints of sweetness and had a touch of spice on the finish.

Verdict: I think the Gurkha Signature Red 1887 may be one of my new favorites. At $8 a stick, it isn’t a regular smoke, but if you’re one to splurge on a box occasionally, you may want to check this one out.

Sponsored By: Cigarmony.com Get 5% Off Your Order By Using The Promo Code “CJ2008″

• Cigar Review: Rocky Patel Edge Lite Torpedo
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• Nat Sherman 1400 Series Omerta Cigar Review

This article has been published at RLSLOG.net - visit our site for full content.

After the success of Seven Pounds. Here is a nice biography done by E!. I am a huge fan(lol) of Will Smith, from his acting to his music. W4F releases a nice episode size release.

Will Smiths rise to fame from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air to being Hollywoods biggest box office superstar. His life and career as an actor in TV and movies and as a musician.

Will.Smith.E.True.Hollywood.Story.PDTV.XviD-W4F
PDTV - XViD | 512×384 | VBR 144kbps | 44 mins - 350MB
NFO - Torrent | TV.com - Wikipedia Will Smith

more at RLSLOG.net

This article has been published at RLSLOG.net - visit our site for full content.

Now you got to admit that standard DVDRip is not always the 1st any more, here is another example. SEPTiC just released the latest SAW franchise in 720p BluRay Rip, what’s more, it’s a DIRECTOR’S CUT version. Two months ago, I went to watch this movie in theatre. I have to say I’m a little disappointed since SAW IV was way better than this. Anyway, it doesn’t stop me watching it again before I burn it into DVDR.

PLOT: Following Jigsaw’s grisly demise, Mark Hoffman, the final apprentice to the serial killer is deigned a hero. Meanwhile, Agent Strahm is tested and puts the pieces together. While Strahm realizes that Hoffman is helping Jigsaw, five seemingly unconnected people face a horrible lesson about teamwork.

Genre: Crime / Horror / Thriller
IMDB rating: 5.9/10
Directed by: David Hackl
Starring: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson

Release Name: Saw.V.720p.Bluray.x264-SEPTiC
Size: 4.42GB
Audio Quality: DTS
Video Quality: XviD 1280 x 720 5073kbps

Links: IMDB, NFO, NewTorrent (Search)

more at RLSLOG.net

Epson's PowerLite Home Cinema 6500 UB projector, with a 75K:1 contrast ratio and 1,600 lumens, is a prime example of what I love about tech: Everything's cheaper even as it becomes more powerful.

The 6500 uses Epson's “Crystal Clear Fine” D7 chip set to up the black levels and a Cinema Filter feature for improved color accuracy, and comes with HDMI 1.3a connectivity, 2.1x optical zoom and 4,000 hours of lamp life.

Also featured is a sweet HQV Reon-VS Video Processor and horizontal, vertical lens shifting—which lets you adjust the picture without having to move the actual projector. With 22dB of fan noise, you won't hear it whirring through your movies.

The 6500's price is set at $3000, pretty low for the feature set. By comparison, an Epson projector (the PowerLite 1080) from last year was the same price point for just a 12,000:1 contrast ratio and 588 lumens. Crazy what a year will change, eh?

The PowerLite® Home Cinema 6500 UB offers native 1080p resolution for an outstanding home entertainment experience. Delivering a superior contrast ratio of up to 75,000:1 with brightness up to 1,600 lumens, this high-performing projector features a new 3LCD™ D7 chip set from Epson with Ultra Black technology and a built-in HQV® processor and PW390 scaler for sharp, clear high-definition image quality at home.
Estimated Street Price
$2,999
Target Market
• Home entertainment and AV enthusiasts looking for the best performance, features and specs available in a home projector
Key Features
• Native 1080p (1920x1080) resolution
• Epson 3LCD technology with New “Crystal Clear Fine” D7 chip set and Ultra Black technology for superb black levels and extraordinary details
• Unprecedented contrast ratio of 75,000:1
• Built-in HQV Reon-VX Video Processor and PW390 video scaler
• FineFrameTM Technology provides frame interpolation for smoother and sharper video quality
• Superior video image quality with Opticinema™ lens (2.1 zoom ratio)
• Cinema Filter feature delivers larger color space for improved color accuracy
• Brightness of up to 1,600 white and color lumens
• New dust filtration system for increased efficiency
• Low fan noise of only 22dB
Additional Noteworthy Features
• Manual lens shift of 100 percent maximum up/down (vertical) and 50 percent maximum left and right (horizontal)
• 6 Color Modes – Dynamic, Living Room, Natural, Theatre, Theatre Black 1, Theatre Black 2, x.v.Color
• HDMI 1.3a connectivity with Deep Color support
• Zoom ratio – 2.1x optical zoom, manual focus
• Brighter 200W E-TORL lamp delivers high brightness using less energy for up to 4,000 hours of lamp life
• Dimensions – 17.7” x 15.4” x 5.7” (W x D x H)
• Weight – 16 lbs.
Warranty and Support
• 2-year parts and labor limited warranty, 90-day lamp warranty, Epson HomeService Program and Epson PrivateLine dedicated toll-free support

Motorola is rolling out three new handsets that'll be available in the next few months. While the concepts are relatively up-to-date (eco-friendliness, military ruggedness, touchscreens), why did Motorola choose designs from 2002?

The Renew W233, a bright yellow candybar, is allegedly the first phone made from recycled water bottles. It also costs 20% less to manufacture, has a carbon neutral footprint, and a Motorola promise to invest in renewable energy programs. Great, except ugly phones are a tough sell to even the most dedicated of environmentalists.

The Tundra VA76r is a military-spec, rugged PTT clamshell. It comes with CrystalTalk Plus, which uses a second microphone to filter out and reduce background noise, as well as a 2MP camera, stereo Bluetooth, aGPS and support for a 4GB microSD card. I guess ruggedized phones aren't supposed to be the prettiest things, but seeing the same design rehash from last year is boring.

The Surf A3100 is a touch-based replacement for Motorola's Ming. It'll have a 2.8-inch display, quad-band GSM/EDGE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and two cameras—a 3MP with autofocus and a secondary VGA for videophoning, as well as support up to 32GB microSD cards. The catch is, it's only coming to Asia. Motorola has spoken, and it's said the U.S. cain't have nuthin' nice. [Phonescoop]