For months my friends and I have been looking forward to The Killers concert at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. We all made a pact to wake up early and head out. But. Don’t we all just love to sleep our lives away?

By the time we stumbled into the car… it was nearly 3PM. We even managed to squeeze enough time to have some dinner at one of the cafés in Emirates Palace. YUMMY! I had the Croque Monsieur, it’s basically a toasted sandwich with hot turkey ham, melted cheese and a thin slice of tomatoes *drool*. Talking about it is making me hungry again . We sat for a bit and just relaxed till it was time to bounce.

Thinking it was just a short stroll away (me in my 3 inch heels) we started our journey and soon discovered it was a ONE KILOMETER walk to the site. My stomach was so heavy –> the sandwhich was practically an ANCHOR…    

We didn’t expect it to be packed–but it WAS. You had to literally ”fight” (by that I mean a lot of glaring and poking) to keep your spot! We were lucky to be at the front close to the stage except it was WAY exhausting… everytime the guy next to me jumped, he would thrust both his hands in the air and on the way down…his elbow would smack the right side of my face… NOT cool (he was practically a giant –> even if I stood behind him and tip-toed I wouldn’t be able to see past his shoulder). 

Anyways… I don’t want to talk about him. I want to tell you about The Killers!! They played ♪♫♪♪♫ ”Human”, “Somebody Told Me” and “Mr. Brightside” (MY FAVORITES) and of course many others.

Can I say they were just A-W-E-S-O-M-E? Everyone was pumped! The crowd went crazy when we thought they were finished. All of them walked off the stage and the lights turned off. EVERYone was chanting WE. WANT. MORE. To our surprise, they came back out and played a couple more songs ◕ ‿ ◕ WHOOPEE! It ended with fireworks and sparks flying everywhere. Nearly went deaf with all the screaming — mine probably the loudest. They threw their drumsticks into the audience (missed me by a MILE! If only they threw a bit more to the right, I’d have a chance). Needless to say, I’m SO glad I didn’t miss this concert. They really put on a fantastic show with so much energy.

*Psst* Brandon Flowers is just too cute for words!

Divided into Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Astronomy, Psychology, Geology, Genetics, Paleontology and Experiments, this list from Online School showcases some of their top finds from the YouTubiverse. See what you think!

Here’s one from their list on Hubble’s Universe: Nebula and Galaxies, a Cosmic Journey:

Thanks Amber for the link.

I’m a sucker for all genres of music. Hip hop, Country, Slow Jams, Adult Contemporary, Movie Scores, Classical, Polka–you name it! But there is no replacement for hearing music performed live; simply better than any thing you’ll hear on headphones. Of course there are some bands that are really bad live, but that shouldn’t stop you from seeing them. The fun is just being there. Good or bad, here are just a few that give me goosebumps.

Ahhhhhhhh, Tamia. She still kills me.

They killed it. No really, they did.


Charice killed it. No really, she killed it. (You might have to follow the link though)

The Killers killed it. No really, they did.

Arctic Monkeys killed your dancing shoes. No really, D-E-D…Dead.

Silbermond killeinstein der Symphonie Orchester der LIVE vershenstein ack kaufman Germanie breckenstein güdden.
(Silbermond rocks!)

Ob course, the Pacman always kills it. ALWAYS.

Il bello di avere una macchina con il tettuccio che si apre sono giornate come questa.

(e la sera di Italia Germania, quando, nel carosello dei festeggiamenti, ci sono entrati in macchina una decina di barbari, assalendoci e rubandoci le chiavi, ed io ho rotto il naso ad uno di loro con un cazzotto, non unoacaso ma un porco che aveva tentato di palparmi, con successo, tutto ciò davanti ad una folla  colosseo style che rideva invece di aiutarci. Folla a cui apparteneva anche il mio fidanzaro. Ma vabbeh questa come direbbe Infanta Imperatrice, è un’altra storia. E dovrà essere raccontata un’altra volta. Precisamente nel post “millanta cosa che mi sono capitate e che mi sembra impossibile siano capitate ed invece mi sono capitate. Stay Tuned).

Insomma oggi è estate. Ci sono 28 gradi. Un sole spacca le pietre. La maglietta che ho messo è troppo pesante. Ho abbassato i finestrini e ho acceso la radio.

E’ partita questa che già mi fa impazzire, perchè oh dammit. Brandon è Brandon.

Io canto come la cretina che sono, la canto tutta come se fossi sotto la doccia, ovvio, cambio stazione e parte questa qui

Ma allora lassù qualcuno che mi guarda c’è!

Ovviamente mi schiarisco la voce e ricomincio il canto. Ovviamente, non ho parcheggiato nonostante fossi arrivata. Ho continuato a girare come la scema che sempre sono. Ovviamente, poi, non ho trovato il posto sotto l’ufficio. Ma fs.

Due canzoni meravigliose, vento tra i capelli, bei pensieri in testa, un meraviglioso giorno di Ottobre. Estate Indiana.

Nel mio cuore, Maggio.

]]> http://greenpeppers.wordpress.com/2009/07/01/boys-like-girls-love-drunk/ Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:56:17 +0000 KelseyO http://greenpeppers.wordpress.com/2009/07/01/boys-like-girls-love-drunk/

This song has good and bad.

The good?  It’s extremely catchy, has a great beat, and you just know that it will be the next popular dance song.

The bad?  The chorus (well, for music junkies such as myself, that is) sounds very similar to that of “Somebody Told Me” by the Killers.  Though that might just be my mind playing tricks on me, and the chords don’t actually match (yeah, I compared them), it still bothers me a little.

Now, the details.

I’m good at recognizing similar riffs and chords, and when I pressed play for the first time, I was pretty sure the opening riff sounded similar to a few other songs I’d heard before.  While nothing specific comes to mind, and it still is  a cool riff, there’s a good chance that it’s been done before (not note-for-note, per se, but the basic tone is there).

The lyrical rhythm in the verse sounds a lot like many previous Boys Like Girls songs, and the rhymes aren’t the most original, but that’s just me and I don’t think anyone else will care.

I will admit: intense similarities to “Somebody Told Me” aside, I love the chorus.  The use of alcohol as a metaphor for the poor kid’s love for a girl is clever: “I used to be love drunk, now I’m hungover/I love you forever, forever is over.”  Burn.  But then we yank that annoying feeling back over–the chorus, from the drums to the background music to the lyric rhythm and notes, sounds exactly like “Somebody Told Me” by the Killers.  I know I’ve said that about three times now, but it’s true.  But, all things taken into consideration, this is an insane mosh chorus and there will be tons of dance remixes in the future.

The boys spew out a good cuss word in the bridge.  High schoolers and college-goers will love it, parents of younger fans will hate it.

The song wraps up with an epic-sounding combination of the chorus repeating and some “na na na”s here and there.  I can’t say I’m a fan of the na-nas, but they’ll do.  They do a fade-out ending, which is fine, but I think one of those sudden stops would have been better (ex. “On Top of the World,” “Misery” by Good Charlotte…something like that).

My rating: 9.9/10.  -.1 for the chorus sounding like the Killers.

Fetter Tag nach superbem Freitag. Letzte Nacht hab ich meine Karaoke-Jungfräulichkeit eingebüßt und zwar zur Melodie der Killers und “Somebody told me”.  Nach minimalem Trunkenzoff doch noch ne wunderschöne Nacht mit meinem Freund gehabt. Heute bis Mittag den Rausch ausgepennt und dann in die Stadt.Zum frühstück gabs Wurstbrötchen für meinen Freund und “Caramel Light Frappucino” von Starbucks für mich. Mmmm. Zum Nachtisch haben wir uns getrennt: Ich bin nach Hause Sachen packen und mein Freund ist nach Fulbourn gefahren, um sein Auto und danach mich einzusacken. Den Rest des Tages haben wir damit verbracht, uns herrlich auf der Couch zu fletzen, “House” zu schauen und Pimms zu trinken — eine Episode nach der anderen. Mein Freund hat super lecker Abendbrot gekocht und wir hatten sogar noch eine Minikäseplatte am start. Schon mal Senfkäse gekostet? Unbedingt mal probieren …

Mindestens genauso schön war, dass ich mit Hilfe meiner branneuen externen Festplatte (500 gb im Reisepassformat) meine Berlinphotos hochladen konnte (die webfreundlichen Photos wie immer auf http://www.flickr.com/photos/amyrovig/ einzusehen) und einige wenige bei Picturenation.co.uk hochzuladen. Mal sehen wann oder ob überhaupt die mir einmal was einbringen.

Und nu’? Wir haben es fast 1 Uhr und ich habe nachwievor unerhöhrt gute Laune. Mein Freund schläft mir gegenüber auf der Couch und ich bin wach, wach, wach … House läuft immer noch und ich bin weiterhin am Pimms trinken.

Alles gut, wer hätte das gedacht.

–asr

Hove Backstage by boat

Day two at Hove Festivalen and we kick off the morning with a little exploration of the festival Island and surrounding coast by jumping aboard a gorgeous motor boat and pootering along the coast. Our captain is more than happy to extol the virtues of the surrounding countryside, which is by now revealing itself to be so breathtaking it will undoubtedly be slapped with a government health warning sooner or later. Revelation of the trip though is perhaps that last year the captain played host to those lovely Kooks boys who were such models of British politeness that they left a lasting impression. Good to hear!

Musically the second day of the Hove Festival in Norway opened with exemplary exponents of the new Bergen Wave, The New Wine, who those of you in the know may have seen rammed into the top floor of the Lock Tavern last december or possibly whipping up a frenzy at Komedia stepping into Golden Silvers shoes at The Great Escape. Tonight in their home country they seem like a band where everything has been taken to the next level, commanding the stage with a mature confidence that belies their youth.

Part of a new wave of electro tinged bands from Bergen that have forsaken sequencers and backing tracks in favour of pure analogue tones they create a heady mix of disco-intelligencia grooves and driving drums that make them eminently danceable. Fueled by the viral success of two download only demo’s and a raft of support in the Norwegian blogosphere they justify the hype and show exactly why the waves of praise coming out of SXSW and TGE have been so strong. Notebooks out and double underlining for these boys!

Following on from the delicate synth sounds of The New Wine it’s over to the Amfiscenen stage where it’s all getting a bit heavy for a tuesday. Brighton metal merchants Architects may have an excess of energy having taken the schoolboy error decision to drive from Germany to Norway thinking it would be a quick nip along some motorways. Still the boys arrived in plenty of time and are in the mood to see a 40foot wide circle pit, which they duly receive. It’s a breathtaking site at teatime on a tuesday and the band seem more than satisfied with the results of their jaunt north. After this sun drenched brutality I take a trip over the hill into the big pink tent known as the Teltscenen. Now I am sure the irony would be truly lost on him but seeing misogynist gangsta rapper Nercro ply his generic, drear-hop in a pink tent almost makes it bearable….almost. Fleeing quickly from the hideous Necro (if you buy his records it’s you fault… just like watching Transformer’s 2!) there’s just time to hit the backstage beach bar where we find Hockey BBQ-ing some freshly caught pollack before heading back to Amfiscenen where US metalcore juggernaut The Black Dahlia Murder are launching into their own brand of brutality. Featuring new material around the choice cuts of Miasma and Nocturnal the band live up to the hype created by their new live DVD Majesty which surfaced this year. In the home of Death Metal they find new and old friends a plenty.

Fleet Foxes

Unfortunately we only hear Hockey through the trees due to technical issues but the americans brand of funk rock always goes down smooth like Ron Burgundy. One band who are really getting into the vibe of things is Seattle multi harmonists Fleet Foxes. Guitarist Skylar has Norwegian blood and the band take the chance between songs to ask the crowd to settle once and for all his own dilemmas about how to pronounce his surname Skjelset. Once the band have managed to solve their phonetic quandries they get down to the business of bringing to life last years seminal, self titled debut on stage. Fleet Foxes are an interesting proposition live. There are moments when they play some songs early on and it is easy to get lost in your surrounding rather than the music, but then they will step up everything a gear and unleash moments of pure transcendence. ‘White Winter Hymnal’ and ‘Oliver James’ provide standout moments, whilst ‘Mykonos’ creates the illusion of a new Beach Boys live and in the flesh. There is a strong lineage of Folk and Country Americana bands inspiring devotional followings in Norway, they love the Eagles here, and Fleet Foxes provide the moment of the festival so far as their 4 part harmonies swirl around the main stage and reverberate like ghosts through the trees.

So it’s in a blissed out state that we sumble across British band Golden Silvers expecting them to be Norwegian techno pranksters Casiokids…the two bands have switched set times. The Silvers seem to be going down a storm here and it’s brilliant to see them translate their success at home overseas. Speaking later they reveal their excitement about playing multiple gigs and stages at Glastonbury this coming weekend, if you can get there check them out.

Alas we have to leave the Golden Silvers and head mainstage way as the Killers are fast approaching. The killers are a strange proposition these days, arriving in a flurry of photo bans and orders that noone should talk to the band it’s a bit like Elvis sweeping into the building. They’ve also got a third album which divides people in a way that marmite would have to respect, but from the number of lithe Norse ladies sporting ‘I Heart Killers’ scrawled across various body parts it doesn’t seem like there will be any questions asked of them tonight. Indeed when they launch their set with ‘Human’ you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who wasn’t forgiving of their appalling punctuation.

It’s a triumphant set and, in all honesty, one of the better live performances that they have put in recently. They certainly raised their game to their surroundings and old hits like ‘Somebody Told Me’ remind you that before their new wave Abba on acid experimentation period they just wrote fantastic funk rock pop songs.

You might think this would be the end of the night but it’s off back to the big pink tent to see the Golden Silvers (Who of course you know by now are actually Casiokids) Casiokids are an amazing mix of Sigur Ros and the Teletubbies, a notion further enhanced by their closing song stage invasion that in Flaming Lips style features friends and tour staff dressed up in costumes and oversized bobble head masks.

To close out the night we take one final trip to the Amfiscenen where New York instrumentalists Ratatat. Playing their 3rd set of the festival…apparently when asked to leave the festival site at 4am on monday morning they just refused…and who could blame them!

Casiokids

click for Science resources

There is also a section for students to access, with access to some of the multimedia resources in the teachers’ area.

Pandemic II: Spread the World

Thanks to the excellent NotExactlyRocketScience blog for posting the link to this game. Pandemic II is a complex flash game based on strategy, evolution (though more like design)  and the spread of disease. The premise is simple – take a pathogen (bacteria, virus or parasite), and watch its spread across the globe. Along the way you can alter the pathogen to change its properties, making it more infectious, more lethal or less noticeable. The aim of the game is to wipe out the population of the world.

It is easy to save using Firefox add-ons.

Check out the game here: http://www.crazymonkeygames.com/Pandemic-2.html

And the tutorials here:

Is it better than the addictive Magic Pen Game or Foldit?

Have a go!

I love the killers,

I really do, no seriously, I do. The killers are amazing. There’s just one thing that bangs at my curiousity about them. Whether Brandon flowers is gay or not? Yes, I know he’s a mormon and it’s “totally against his religion to do that” but his lyrics are so… confusing. Lets start of with the obvious.

Well somebody told me
You had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year

Okay? Yeah… so it’s not that gay, but it gets weirder

Like Marlon Brando
Michael Valentine, can’t we unite?

Not weird enough for you… How about the all time classic “Andy you’re a star”

In a car with a girl, promise me she’s not your world
Cause Andy, you’re a star
In nobody’s eyes but mine
Andy, you’re a star
In nobody’s eyes but mine

I got you there didn’t I! But hey, who can blame me, this ex-moustached lad definitely has gay capabilities, oh well I guess that’s your decision. He did say a lot of his heros were gay men and still are?

… perhaps one was Sir Elton?

Thanks to bogstandardcomp from the TES Forums for this one.

Click Here

PBS have a series on their archives called Scientific American Frontiers. Although the last episode posted there was a couple of years ago, they have full episodes online and allow easy navigation within clips. There are also teaching resources and notes to go along with each one.

For some highlights have a look at:

- Make Up Your Mind (brain development and neuroscience)

- Hot Planet, Cold Comfort (climate change)

- Going Deep (ALVIN and deep-sea exploration)

- The Gene Hunters (Genetics and a few good resources)

Lo siento, pero no puedo escribir esta entrada como periodista, mi lado FAN me lo impide. Aún así, intentaré hacerlo lo mejor posible.

El domingo 22 fue el día que llevaba años esperando: The Killers tocaban en Madrid, y yo tenía entradas. Estuve nerviosa todo el fin de semana, sin llegar a creer que por fin vería a mi grupo favorito, que por fin escucharía canciones que me ponen los pelos de punta en directo. Y con los pelos de punta me pasé la hora y media que Brandon Flowers y el resto de asesinos pasaron en el Palacio de los Deportes.

He estado en un montón de conciertos y festivales de música, pero nunca había visto a tanta gente junta -y entregada- como ayer. Unas 15.000 personas abarrotaban pista y gradas, unas 15.000 victims que esperaban a sus killers con la mismas ganas que yo. Hasta la bandera.

Cuando aparecieron en el escenario, la masa rugió; cuando empeó a sonar Human, primer single de Day & Age, la masa enloqueció. “¡¡Buenas noches, somos los Killers, para serviros!!”, dijo Brandon en el párrafo en español de rigor. Pero en realidad, tanto él como nosotros sabíamos que eso era al revés. Y sin importarnos.

Sabiendo que precisamente su último trabajo no es el mejor, estos tipos de Las Vegas supieron enlazar de maravilla las canciones que nos brindaron, y gracias a ello puedo darle al concierto la honorable categoría de “conciertazo: hit tras hit“. Y es que dieron muy poca tregua, porque después de Human, sin pensárselo, tocaron Somebody told me. Así, a lo loco.

Dado que hace un par de años fue a ver a Franz Ferdinand con toda mi ilusión, y el directo fue un auténtico asco, mi único miedo era que con The Killers pasara lo mismo. Pero Flowers no me defraudó: salió con su cazadora de flecos y plumas en los hombros y dio rienda suelta a esa voz suya que sirve de DNI del grupo. Porque son únicos.

Insisto en disculparme por mi nula objetividad, pero es que estuve de principio a fin en pleno éxtasis, sin más droga que un par de copas de Beefeater con Red Bull -aunque las alas no me las dio la taurina, sino la música-. Eso sí, tuve dos momentos críticos: cuando empezó a sonar For reasons unknown, mi segunda canción favorita, estuve al borde de la lágrima, y con Mr. Brightside, mi canción favorita, estuve al borde del desmayo. Y es que la adrenalina, la emoción y el desgaste energético por no parar de saltar y cantar me tenían sobrecogida.

Con All these things that I’ve done hubo una especie de apoteosis -coral-mística que dejó flipados a los propios Killers, porque entre el temazo que es y la magnífica campaña ‘Courage’ de Nike, a todos y cada uno de los allí presentes nos salió del alma corear el “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier”. Hubo hasta cañones de confeti de lo apasionante que fue.

Spaceman, segundo single y temazo del nuevo disco, y Read my mind, clasicazo de rigor del Sam’s Town, completaron el primer bloque.
Se despidieron, se fueron, y les hicimos volver con un cántico muy spanish “Oe, oe oe oeeee, oeeee, oeeee”. En vista de eso nos regalaron Bones y Jenny was a friend of mine.

Y para cerrar, When you were young -otro clásico-, explosiones y llamas en el escenario, una bandera de España en la pantalla y la sensación generalizada de que había sido el concierto más intenso de nuestras vidas.

Como aspecto negativo, destacar la rabia que me da pensar que mi hermano y mis primos Luises, fans desde hace años como yo, se quedaron sin entrada por culpa de que The Killers ahora suenen en Los 40 Comerciales y demás radiofórmulas. Hubiera preferido estar dando botes al lado de ellos que al lado de niñitas con Converse que sólo fueron capaces de cantar el estribillo de Human.

Habrá que ahorrar para el FIB…

Versione sintetica: 1 ora e mezza di divertimento “made in Las Vegas”!

Versione estesa: la provenienza da Las Vegas ha davvero influenzato i The Killers, lo show messo in piedi al Forum di Assago, Milano, ne è un esempio lampante. Sul palco tra strumenti musicali e artisti trovano posto palme e un vaso di dimensioni umane stracolmo di fiori, inoltre l’illuminazione scelta contribuisce a quel senso di kitsch, o per dirla all’italiana un po’ “pacchiano”, che non può che mettere allegria e riportare subito allo sfarzo del “fake” made in Las Vegas, eppure i Killers sono tante cose (pop il primo aggettivo che mi viene in mente ripensando alla serata) ma non fake, ci danno dentro parecchio e il pubblico, davvero generoso, gradisce.

Il Gruppo di supporto, Louis XIV non merita menzione, c’erano ma è come non ci fossero stati (magari..). Parlo invece delle stars, i Killers che partono con il tormentone, Human, quasi per archiviare la pratica e far capire che loro sono tanto altro, il risultato è comunque un delirio del forum davvero strapieno.

Da lì in poi è un susseguirsi di pezzi memorabili e nuove tracce dall’ultimo cd Day & Age giusto per citare in ordine sparso: Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine, Mr. Brightside, Smile Like You Mean It, Somebody Told Me, All These Things That I’ve Done, Sam’s Town, When You Were Young, Bling, For Reason Unknown, Read My Mind, Bones, Human, Spaceman, Joyride, A Dustland Fairytale, The World We Live In… and that’s it! Più o meno dovrebbero esserci tutte.. anzi no, manca un pezzo che oltre a The World We Live In, Human, All These Things That I’ve Done per me è valso il biglietto, tanto più che è stato un regalo inaspettato: Shadowplay, cover dei Killers dell’originale dei Joy Division, pezzo fantastico.

Tutta la serata è stata un grosso, chiassoso e sudato (il forum somigliava più ad un forno) concentrato di divertimento, il pubblico si può dire è stato in completo delirio per tutta la durata del concerto.

Ma posso anche fermarmi qua con la descrizione, infatti al Forum erano presenti le telecamere di All Music quindi al più presto dovrebbe (spero) essere trasmesso l’intero concerto. Anzi se qualcuno ha notizie sulla data di trasmissione, orario, programma etc lasci pure un commento! 

Per sintetizzare l’evento: happy time Las Vegas Style!

Update: la tracklist completa della serata by Indipendente Eventi E Produzioni.

“There is no evidence because it would be hard to prove…” Aduh.

BadScience hero Ben Goldacre and Jeremy Paxman take on Baroness Greenfield, The Daily Mail (always a good target) and Aric Sigman in this interview from Newsnight. For a bit of background this is all a response to this story from the Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1149207/How-using-Facebook-raise-risk-cancer.html

If you’re in my class, the page you need to comment on is here.

The Daily Mail reports  Sigman is claiming (without any real evidence) that time on the computer takes you away from real people. This makes you isolated and lonely and means you are not producing the right hormones and your genes will act up – potentially leading to cancer, immune problems and impaired mental function. That’s a far reach for a newspaper article to be making, but these kind of shock headlines sell papers, or get more traffic on their website.

In this debate we see the importance of peer-reviewed research before making public claims. We see that correlation does not necessarily imply causality and we see that poor reporting of sensitive issues can lead to gross misunderstandings. If we remember, the Daily Mail was central in the reporting of the MMR vaccine scare.

When you watch this interview and read the article, can you think of responses to these questions?

- Are there parts of Sigman and Greenfield’s claims that might sound plausible?

- What kind of evidence would you want to see to support these claims?

- What is the significance of Goldacre’s comment “… you can make anything look dangerous if you are selective in which evidence you quote” ?

- Sigman makes a comment “The paper weas supposed to be a one-sided provocative feature article for The Biologist to make people think more carefully about where society is going.” How does he feel about the media attention that his words have attracted outside this publication?

- Central to Sigman’s claims were that internet use increases social isolation. He had no peer-reviewed work after 1998 to support this, yet Goldacre pointed out all these references that suggest otherwise.

- Sigman tries to re-state ’social networking’ as a phrase meant for real-life interactions between people rather than internet-based interactions. How has his interpretation of the term led to confusion in the wider public? Who do you think is responsible for this confusion and how could it be rectified?

- Sigman tries to distance himself from the headlines and the conjectures of Greenfield and returns to his concern that internet use is having a direct and negative impact ont the lives of children. Take this opportunity to discuss the benefits and potential negative impacts of the internet with regard to childhood use.

- Goldacre makes a comment that it woudl be bad for research to prioritse what research is done based on the headlines in the newspapers. Do you agree/ disagree? Why?

- How do you think the precautionary principle might relate to the decisions parents make based on this issue?

How would you like to see this story develop? What further research would convince you of the harms or otherwise this debate?

Breaking my back just to know your name
Seventeen tracks and I’ve had it with this game
I’m breaking my back just to know your name
But heaven ain’t close in a place like this
Anything goes but don’t blink, you might miss
‘Cause heaven ain’t close in a place like this
I said heaven ain’t close in a place like this
Bring it back down, bring it back down tonight
Never thought I’d let a rumour ruin my moonlight

Well, somebody told me you had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year
It’s not confidential, I’ve got potential

Ready lets roll onto something new
Takin’ it’s toll and I’m leaving without you
‘Cause heaven ain’t close in a place like this
I said heaven ain’t close in a place like this
Bring it back down, bring it back down tonight
Never thought I’d let a rumour ruin my moonlight

Well, somebody told me you had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year
It’s not confidential, I’ve got potential a rushin’ a rushin’ around

Pace yourself for me
I said maybe, baby, please
But I just don’t know now
When all I wanna do is try

Well, somebody told me you had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year
It’s not confidential, I’ve got potential a rushin’ a rushin’ around

Somebody told me you had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year
It’s not confidential, I’ve got potential a rushin’ a rushin’ aroun

The Killers – Somebody Told Me

Time for an update on saving videos and resources from the internet – the last post on the subject was in September 2007, and there are some new ideas out there. Again, this information is for your assistance – especially if some sites have been blocked by your school or (like here) the connection is too poor to rely on it during class time – not to encourage thieving of copyrighted resources. Make good decisions!

As we are in the Web2.0 and information sharing age, I’ll look only at methods that are totally free.

————————————————————————————————————————————————-

First up, Firefox users (if you don’t use it, give it a go here)

The beauty of Firefox is that you can install any number of small add-ons to customise it and make it do what you need. Of particular use in our case are these two add-ons for downloading flash content. Install them and give them a go.

DownloadHelper

VideoDownloadHelper is great for saving online videos (like YouTube) – just wait for the video to completely load on screen and then click the icon in your toolbar. You will get a drop-down menu that gives you options to save – go for the file name that ends in .flv and you’re off.

This also has a powerful conversion tool, allowing you to convert the videos into different formats. A great, complete downloader.

Tip – set all downloads to save to the desktop, so you don’t lose them. Then cut and paste them into your folder.

Fast Video Download

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Fast Video Download is a similar app that has a small icon in the lower-right of the browser window. I works in much the same way, saving videos as .flv, but has the added bonus of being able to grab a lot of other flash content (such as animations) from websites.

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What about non-Firefox users?

Try this app, called Tooble, which runs from your computer. It allows you to browse and download YouTube content, and will convert videos to MP4 format. More on this has been posted on the WhiteBoardBlog.

KeepVid

There is also a host of web-based downloaders, which basically reach into the computer to find the temporary file that is saved when you watch things online and move it to a place where you can find it. Have a go at KeepVid.com or YouTubeCatcher.

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How do I play these files?

SMART Notebook software has an flv player built-in, making life very easy – just drag the file in and off you go.

VLC Player

My favourite media player isVLC Media Player – open-source, free and easy. It isn’t heavy on your computer like Windows Media Player or iTunes, and supports a wide range of file types (including .flv), without having to download anything else. Go for it!

There are .flv specific players available out there, such as FLV Player, but if you have VLC up and running, you don’t really need them.

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Job done!

One thing I can’t get my head around is saving Java applets – maybe someone else can help out on that one.

The Las Vegas quintet The Killers released Day & Age, their third studio album on November 28th 2008.  A heavily produced pop record, Day & Age is an album lacking substance and grit.  In 2004, The Killers debut album Hot Fuss was a huge hit across the country and sprung the new wave rock band to the top of the charts.  Along with Franz Ferdinand and their hit “Take Me Out”, The Killers ruled the charts with “Mr. Brightside” and “Somebody Told Me”, but their new tracks are a far cry from these head bopping rock/dance songs.  For a band that wants to be labeled as serious rock this album is full of nothing but trashy pop songs soon to be sampled for club remixes.

I actively listened to every second of this CD, several times, looking for good things to say, but I came up empty.  Front man Brandon Flowers continues to write lyrics that make little sense and border the ridiculous, but on this album his lyrics unfortunately don’t blend with the music enough and make the songs worse, not eclectic and new wave.  Oddly, the album’s beats have an almost Caribbean vibe, steel drums and blends that make you think of beach days, not rocking out at a show.  Day & Age ends with a track called “Goodnight, Travel Well” which seems to never end, although that’s all I wanted the album to do because the music was so mediocre.  This track clocks in at 6:51 but might have been easier to listen to if it was closer to 2 minutes tops.

If you’re in search of a new album for your rock collection, unfortunately Day & Age isn’t the record to buy.  The Killers have shown their talent in the past, but it somehow got lost in the synthesizers of Day & Age.

Bro Taylor sent another quality video. His title was ‘What Engineers do when they retire‘, though looking at the original website, it should read ‘what workshy engineering graduates do when they don’t want a real job.’

This is kind of contraption that would put Wallace and Gromit to shame:

My favourite quote from their website:”Baynham & Tyers is no longer an active company, as Ben and Tom are heavily involved in exciting new projects.” Like gluing things to the wall, evidently.