Lost in Thought and Beauty: Review #2 for The New Face of Jazz
by: Cicily Janus

In the realm of the jazz world, it seems that artists are categorized into two different streams: Those who can and those who can’t. But I think there’s a third category that often gets buried. There are those who know how to turn their sheer will and hard work into success. In his debut album as a jazz artist, Suresh Singaratnam, who has been known as a hot young talent in the classical trumpet world, has now succeeded on all counts. His charming personality and melodic style stands out on his freshman release titled, Lost in New York. This album is truly one graced with beauty and much thought. Many artists in the jazz community, especially for their first releases, often put together albums that are compiled of single standards instead of creating a whole experience. What Suresh created with original content and panache was a body of work that tells a story of transition into modern cutting edge jazz….

read the complete review at NewFaceOfJazz.com

Those days when you can never seem to get a clean note out, and your lips just feel like they have no strength at all. They happen every once in a while. Any advice on stopping them fast?

Here was my answer:

Like I said, I used to hate those weeks, but they’re caused by a combination of physical and psychological factors and I’ve learned a few tricks to help myself get back on track. The short answer is, take a break from all exercises, just play songs and pieces you love to play because you know you sound good when you’re playing them. If you can, do this in a room with a lot of reverb. Another possibility is a problem with your breathing, so you might try to pay special attention to that and make sure you’re taking deep, yet comfortable and relaxed breaths. (As the saying goes: “inhale to expand, don’t expand to inhale”) You could also take a day or two away from the horn. There’s a chance you’re over-practicing and just need a rest. (I remember you had that audition recently). The long answer is…..

In one of my first lessons with him, my last teacher (Vincent Penzarella) told me that playing the trumpet is 90% mental focus on the music, 9% breath control, and 1% embouchure control. When I started studying with him, my embouchure was a mess, I didn’t know how to breath properly, but most importantly, I wasn’t really thinking about music when I was playing the trumpet. I knew he studied with Arnold Jacobs, so I was expecting him to get into the breathing stuff early on. It took him a few months. In our first lessons, he had me doing a lot of basic things like major/minor scales & long tones. I was a senior at MSM, so it was a bit of a blow to the ego, but I was pretty open to his ideas since I’d heard so many good things from his other students. The important component he added to these seemingly simple exercise was his insistence that I mentally sing whatever I play while playing. Actually, he went a step further and always told me to “sing on the trumpet, don’t play.”  If I was working on major scales, I would have to sing every single note in my mind while playing them. The feeling on my lips and what came out of the bell of the trumpet weren’t important, what I heard in my mind was. For long tones, he told me to subdivide the notes in my mind, but also hear myself playing each note in the context of a full orchestral brass section playing that note in surrounding octaves. Long tones quickly became something that wouldn’t be practical to work on while watching TV.

After a few months of this, we started working on breathing exercises. Penzarella always stressed the importance of hearing the music in my mind while working on breathing, so those feelings of effortlessness would transfer to the trumpet. The breathing exercises would be useless for trumpet playing if they were learned outside of a musical context. A few months later, we tried to fix my embouchure, but I was having trouble making the adjustment because I was too attached to how the mouthpiece felt on my lips after years of playing and the new embouchure felt uncomfortable.

I didn’t correct my embouchure until after I completed my Masters degree at MSM. Actually, the correction didn’t happen until  about a year after I graduated. It was also a sort of accidental process that I didn’t understand till a few months had passed. I was a little disorientated and unmotivated after graduation. Practicing occasionally, I once went about 10 days without even touching my trumpet. When I picked it up again, I thought I would try the corrected embouchure Mr. Penzarella showed me. Because I had enough time away from the horn, I had “forgotten” the old embouchure enough to feel more comfortable with the new setup. I knew I would have to build up strength again, so I gradually increased my playing time everyday, but I started by only playing pieces I enjoyed, pieces I knew well, and new music that was easy to read through. After a few months, the new embouchure felt completely natural and now I can’t even imagine going back to the way I used to play. There’s no way I could’ve played the intervals in that Bach Violin partita movement with the old embouchure and I wouldn’t have been able to make it through the Hindemith at the tempo I recorded at. These days, the room I do all my practicing in is small, but it doesn’t really matter, because I’m more concerned with the clarity of the music in my mind when I’m practicing.

The point of all of that was to share my little epiphany about just how much our state of mind can effect our playing. Have you noticed how endurance seems almost unlimited when playing in a church or large hall with a lot of reverb, but playing in a small stuffy room seems to bring fatigue quickly? Creating a beautiful sound on the trumpet does require practice on the instrument, but it also requires a lot of imagination and focus. That comes naturally to a few fortunate ones, but a lot of us need to consciously stayed engaged with the task at hand, or things don’t sound too great.

Finally, I suggested the possibility of taking some time off and just listening to some good music because frustration can be a distraction from the music, and catalyst for tension in the body, which restricts your airflow, which makes playing more taxing for the embouchure, which will frustrate you, which can distract you from the music…..well, you get the idea Hope that helps =)

Toronto Music Scene’s Tanya Bailey had a chance to chat with trumpeter Suresh Singaratnam who has won numerous awards and scholarships for his playing.  Here’s what he had to say…read more at TorontoMusicScene.ca

…read more at www.IRememberMichael.com

Bill O’Reilly has been 

brought low by the same process that afflicted Jerry Springer. Once respected journalists, they sold their souls for higher ratings, and follow their siren song. Springer is honest about it: “I’m going to Hell for what I do, and I know it,” he’s likes to say. O’Reilly insists he is dealing only with the truth. When his guests disagree with him, he shouts at them, calls them liars, talks over them, and behaves like a schoolyard bully.…read more at Roger Ebert’s Journal: Archives.

Suresh Singaratnam is still in his earliest years as a recording musician, yet his talents are already radiant. Suresh has been trained as both a classical and a jazz musician, and he has recordings to highlight both styles, yet he is able to maintain the important aspects of each music without his music becoming a fusion of two styles- his music stays true and authentic to both classical and jazz. On this album, entitled Two Hundred Sixty One, Vol. 1, Suresh Sinaratnam shows that as a trumpet player…read more at MicControlBlog.com. ]]> http://sureshsingaratnam.com/blog/2009/06/17/another-review-of-two-hundred-sixty-one-vol-1/feed/ http://sureshsingaratnam.com/blog/2009/06/17/first-review-for-lost-in-new-york/ http://sureshsingaratnam.com/blog/2009/06/17/first-review-for-lost-in-new-york/#comments Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:34:58 +0000 Suresh http://sureshsingaratnam.com/blog/?p=455

Yesterday I had posted an album review of Suresh Singaratnam’s album, a collection of classical pieces entitled Two Hundred Sixty One, Vol. 1. Today I have another Suresh Singaratnam album for review, but this one is on the complete opposite side of the spectrum (style wise that is, because this album similar to his other is of the highest quality). This album, entitled Lost In New York, is a full fledged jazz album. It is truly rare to come across such a talented musician who has so clearly mastered a craft and style so early on in his career, but it takes the skills of a prodigy to be able to apply himself in a way where he can express himself to the highest degree through multiple musical disciplines…read more at MicControlBlog.com

by Emanuel Ax

All of us love applause, and so we should – it means that the listener LIKES us! So we should welcome applause whenever it comes. And yet, we seem to have set up some very arcane rules as to when it is actually OK to applaud….read more on Emanuel Ax’s Official Blog.

My bassist Fraser Hollins…(ok, he isn’t just MY bass player, haha, but he’s the bassist on Lost in New York and he sounds amazing) just launched his new website, MySpace page and Blog. Check it out!

www.fraserhollins.com

By Chris Chase

By Brian Clark Howard

Now that you know ketchup can be used for shining copper and repairing hair, or that vodka can be used to repel insects and freshen laundry, you may have been wondering what tasks you can get done for cheap with other household items.

Since May is National Vinegar Month (did you forget?), we thought we’d take a closer look at this inexpensive, versatile good....continue reading on Yahoo Green.

To “Rowuk” on TrumpetMaster.com,

I’m sorry you lost your mother to cancer. I’ve never lost anyone close to me, so I’m always at a loss for words when speaking with people who have, but I can definitely understand why reading the words “publicity stunt” and “donation to cancer research” on the same page would be nothing less than infuriating to you. In my efforts to attract the attention of the masses, I lacked the foresight and sensitivity to realize the effect my words could have on those who had suffered because of cancer. For that error in judgement, I offer my deepest apologies. Your donation to the bone marrow bank is beyond commendable. It’s a beautiful thing to know that there’s a girl somewhere in Canada who has fully recovered from leukemia since someone living thousands of miles away was inspired to improve the lives of others because of a loss he suffered. You turned the tragedy of your mom’s passing into the gift of health and longer life for someone you’ve never even met

To everyone else:

First of all, Rowuk is right, please donate blood or register with a bone marrow bank if you can. It’s definitely a more immediate solution than what I’m doing. As for the discussion about my fundraising efforts, here are my thoughts on that matter. 

I’ve noticed the excerpts from my “publicity stunt” paragraph are the most quoted on the thread that started with Dan Gosling’s posting of my YouTube video. I wrote most of the text on www.261days.com a couple days after Ashton Kutcher was on the news for donating 10,000 mosquito nets to the fight against malaria after he beat CNN to 1,000,000 followers on Twitter. If any of you are annoyed by what I’m doing, think about how annoyed you could be by a multimillionaire being praised for donating $100,000. That’s what lead to the arrogant language in my original statement. At the time, I also wanted to be clear that this was a marketing ploy to contrast Ashton’s basking in the country’s admiration of his “philanthropy” after he donated a relatively small percentage of his wealth. 

The YouTube video is meant to generate excitement for the campaign. It’s short, and fast moving because most people don’t seem have the time or patience to read all the text on www.261days.com . The video something that people can easily send to their friends and family. It also demonstrates how 1,000,000 sales are possible in 261 days, even for an unknown artist. Susan Boyle’s YouTube video was viewed over 100,000,000 times in about a week. If she had a single for sale on iTunes and just 1% of the people who watched that video bought that track, she’d have sold 1,000,000 tracks in a week. For many people, the combination of an animated explanation of exponential growth set to the soundtrack of a familiar but challenging piece of music is enough to convince them to buy the album. For anyone who is curious to hear clips of all the selections on the album, samples are available on iTunes, my Facebook music page, MySpace profile and website. For those who need more detailed information about my fundraising plans, there’s the text on www.261days.com . I’ve come to understand that there are still a few issues to address, so I hope to address them here. 

My original plan was to donate $1,000,000 dollars if I sold 1,000,000 albums, but then I realised $1,000,000 wasn’t enough. The problem with increasing the donation was accounting for the variable pricing of the album. The 7 track album costs as low as $6.93 CAD on iTunes Canada. After Apple and my distributor take their percentage of that amount, I’m left with $4.37. The physical CD sells for as high $10.00 USD. At the current exchange rate, that’s $11.19. After subtracting the money I lose on packaging and the cost of manufacturing each CD, I’m left with a around $5 per CD sold. My reason for choosing the lowest possible profit amount is tied to taxation, Since I don’t believe in claiming charitable donations on my tax return, I have to account for paying income tax on the album sales. The federal income tax rate for Canadians earning more than $126,264 is 29%. After that and Ontario’s provincial tax of 11%, about $2.75 million would remain. At the time, $2,000,000 seemed like the easiest number for people to remember, but after reading my own breakdown of the numbers here, I’ll admit $2,500,000 would have worked just as well. I’m also encouraging people to buy the album on iTunes because we get the benefit of a third party accounting department without spending an extra cent on administrative costs. By posting the video on YouTube and the announcement on a page that is cached by search engines, there’s a public record of my statements. That combined with the sales reports from Apple, PayPal, HMV, Amazon and Indiepool hold me accountable to fulfill my promise when 1,000,000 albums are sold.

Some people are troubled by the omission of any information about how the money will be spent if I don’t reach my goal of 1,000,000. I agree this is a detail that will make some suspicious. I didn’t want to discuss the possibility of failure in the initial announcement because I wanted people to know I believe this will work. If October 23rd arrives and the final tally is something as low as 100,000, or even 10,000, I’ll still be able to afford to give half the money away, so I promise I will, but like I said, why should we settle for something so low when it really could just take 2 people and 20 days to reach our true goal of 1,000,000?

Just to clarify things, I am NOT affiliated with the Canadian Cancer Society in any way whatsoever. I did contact them before I posted the announcement to let them know what I was doing first hand. I didn’t ask for an endorsement or any promotion from them, I just wanted to let them know my intentions were sincere, so if they heard about my efforts from someone else, they wouldn’t think I was trying to scam anyone by using their name. I posted a link to the Canadian Cancer Society’s website so people could learn about that organization. I chose the Canadian Cancer Society because I didn’t want be ambiguous about WHERE the money was going and they seemed like the most appropriate group to handle a donation to fund cancer research.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I’ve had a change of heart since I posted that initial announcement. While I’ll never deny that this STARTED as something that was ultimately about selling my first album, something changed after the first person bought the album after reading about the $2,000,000 donation. I panicked a little. I realized if this was too much of a challenge, I would have to refund that person’s money immediately and explain to him that I was giving up before I really started. Something about that didn’t seem right. I had a choice between giving into my fear of failure, or summoning the determination and resourcefulness I would need to make this happen because proving it’s possible would really change how people looked at wealth and what it means to be generous. To my harshest critics, I hope I’ve proved the legitimacy and sincerity of my intentions to you. While your voices are strong in opposition, they could be even stronger in support.

Suresh S.

–iii-<

One of the first tricks in Penn and Teller’s Las Vegas show begins when Teller—the short, quiet one—strolls onstage with a lit cigarette, inhales, drops it to the floor, and stamps it out. Then he takes another cigarette from his suit pocket and lights it.

No magic there, right? But then Teller pivots so the audience can see him from the other side. He goes through the same set of motions, except this time everything is different: Much of what just transpired, the audience now perceives, was a charade, a carefully orchestrated stack of lies. He doesn’t stamp out the first cigarette—he palms it, then puts it in his ear. There is no second cigarette; it’s a pencil stub. The smoke from the first butt is real, but the lighter used on the pencil is actually a flashlight. Yet the illusion is executed so perfectly that every step looks real, even when you’re shown that it is not.…continue reading at Wired.com

The worst drivers in America live in New York. Of course, you knew that. You’ve been in the Holland Tunnel. But now, we have proof…continue reading on Yahoo Autos Article Page.

Hollywood and robotics researchers have long struggled with the “uncanny valley,” where a movie character or robot falls into the unsettling gap between human and not-quite-human. One psychologist likes to demonstrate this by holding up a plastic baby doll and asking audiences if they think it’s alive. They say no.…continue reading at LiveScience.com

It’s been less than a week since we began the 261 Days campaign and Two Hundred Sixty-One: Vol. 1 has already broken into the top 25 chart for classical music on iTunes Canada. What’s even more surprising is, in less then 3 months, my recordings of Carnival of Venice and the Hindemith Trumpet Sonata are now the best selling recordings of those pieces on iTunes Canada! To everyone in Canada who’s reading this, please tell EVERYONE you know about what we’re trying to do here. If the album keeps climbing the classical charts, that’s more even exposure to help move things along toward 1,000,000. 

Click here to buy the album on iTunes

Click here to learn more about the 261 Days Campaign to raise $2,000,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society

By BOBBY GHOSH / WASHINGTON D.C.Friday, Apr. 24, 2009

He’s the special agent who came in from the cold — and waded straight into the debate over the use of harsh interrogation techniques. Ali Soufan, a former FBI special agent and perhaps the most successful U.S. interrogator of al-Qaeda operatives, says the use of those techniques was unnecessary and often counterproductive. Detainees, he says, provided vital intelligence under non-violent questioning, before they were put through “walling” and waterboarding… continue reading on TIME.com.

I always tell people that there’s really no point in having a blog if you don’t update it frequently. It looks like I have become what I have mocked, haha! Sorry about that. It’s been a hectic week with the launch of the 261 Days campaign. Our slogan has become “2 people, 20 days“, so I felt I had to prove it was possible to sell 2 albums a day by just getting complete strangers to listen to it online. I’m happy to say I’ve met that daily average since last Friday even though 4  of  those days were before I decided to turn the album sales into a fundraiser for Cancer Research. I noticed my recording of the Hindemith Trumpet Sonata is now the 3rd most popular recording of that piece on iTunes and the album was just released in February. Thanks for helping me climb the obscure classical trumpet charts everyone!

Anyways, I know there are going to be a lot of people out there who are expecting this to fail because it’s “unrealistic”. I’d like to remind all of them that just about everything that has made a difference in the world was completely unexpected. Think about how things would change if we pulled this off. We’ll prove that a person can give away MORE than they earn and still be ok. I remember “admitting” this was a publicity stunt in my own announcement, but something changed when I posted that very announcement on my site and emailed the Canadian Cancer Society on Tuesday night. I realised I couldn’t really take this back. If I backed out, everyone who bought the album since that announcement would feel cheated. I realised that this really is a huge responsibility now. That’s one of the reasons I spent most of Thursday and Friday getting that video ad together to post on YouTube. It’s funny how something that only lasts a minute can take so many hours of work, but I’m glad I did because in a way, it proves whats possible when we’re motivated and believe in something. Optimism and confidence are contagious! If you haven’t bought the album yet, please visit my website and check it out. If you already have a copy in your library, I thank you for your support and ask that you tell your family, friends, and co-workers about the music and how I’d like to spend the money from the album sales. I think sending people to the new YouTube video (the one at the beginning of this post) is the best way to do that. Here’s the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iNA_730Y5Y 

See you guys at $2,000,000

           Suresh

–iii-<

I obviously don’t have that kind of money, but I realised I WOULD if I sold 1 million copies of my first CD. Even if ALL of that was from digital sales on iTunes where I only make about $4 per album sold, I could still afford to donate $2,000,000 to charity (even after paying my  taxes). While Mr. Kutcher’s donation was definitely a good deed, let’s be realistic for a moment; $100,000 is a small dent in his bank account. If CNN beat him to a million followers and made the contribution instead, $100,000 would have an even less significant percentage. I’m proposing to commit almost half of my earnings from the sale of this album to the cause.

Why 1 million copies? Isn’t that unrealistic? I think a target of $2,000,000 will be easier to reach than something lower. Here’s why:

You’ll have to admit that the absolute absurdity of my plan is quite intriguing. 2 million copies of a classical trumpet album by an unknown trumpet player from Toronto with no record contract…….during a global recession????? NO one sells a million albums of anything anymore. On top of that, this is music of a genre that is considered one of the least commercially viable. yet here you are, still reading about my plan. I have no small fortune to spend on advertising, nor do I have any existing fame to build this campaign on. All I have is a website, a blog, a 7 track album of surprisingly good classical trumpet music and YOU to help me raise this $2,000,000 for cancer research. Pulling this off will make the “grassrootsness” of Mr. Kutcher’s efforts seem like a corporate affair. I’ll need YOUR help to spread the word. If you’re reading this on my blog, you’re probably tech-savvy enough to buy the album from iTunes and save some money. (the complete album is $6.93 on iTunes, the CD is $10 USD + shipping). When we get to October 23rd and that cheque is handed to the Canadian Cancer Society, we’re all going to feel like we accomplished something pretty special. I’m also convinced that if a just few of the right people in the media get word of this, getting to 1 million will be a walk in the park. With the global economy the way it is now. We’re all looking for a collective victory right now. This is something that can transcend religion, politics, race, and nationality.

Now, to be fair, and continue with my own call to “be realistic”, I’m not going to pretend this isn’t a publicity stunt, because it is. I’m not going to pretend that I’m not doing this to sell my album. I’ll wholeheartedly admit that my main motivation for this is to sell 1 million copies of my first album. At least I’m being upfront about it, right? The very pleasant side effect of my experiment is a $2,000,000 donation to the Canadian Cancer Society. 

So finally, here’s the deal:

If I sell 1 million copies of my 1st album (Physical CDs OR complete album downloads on CDBaby or iTunes) by October 23, 2009, I will donate $2,000,000 to the Canadian Cancer Society.

To everyone who has already purchased the album, don’t worry, I’m not resetting the counter with this announcement. Your purchase just gained the added value of helping of something more important than a young musician’s career because I’m counting all past sales towards the target of 1 million copies. To everyone who doesn’t have the album yet, I’m inclined to recommend that you buy the album from iTunes and save a few dollars. I’d also prefer you buy the album from iTunes for a couple other reasons: 

1. We get the sales recorded by an impartial 3rd party without having to hire an accounting staff.
2. You can trust Apple to report iTunes sales because it’s also in THEIR best interest to report as many sales as possible (helps the value of their stock, etc)
3. We don’t have to worry about shipping anything.
4. You’re saving money, the actual CD costs at least $10 USD
5. Instant gratification: you pay, you download the album in seconds.
6. People with an iPhone or iPod Touch don’t even need a computer to buy the album, they can get directly from their devices.  
7. When we get close to our target, we can approach Apple to see if they’ll match our donation

Some have suggested that I organize concerts and sell other merchandise to help with the cause. I think focusing on iTunes sales alone is far more cost effective.

• All the money we need to spend to make this happen has already been spent.
• We don’t have to manufacture anymore CDs unless there are orders for CDs. 
• We don’t have to hire anyone to keep track of sales because people are already being paid to do that at Apple and my CD manufacturer. 
• We don’t have to spend any money on office space, hiring people to handle the orders. 
• Marketing won’t cost anything either because it will start off with you telling your family and friends until this becomes big enough to get media coverage.

Why the October 23rd deadline? That’s 261 days after the release of the album.

A final word to the skeptics. If everyone who reads this buys the album, convinces 2 people to buy the album and then convinces ANOTHER 2 people to buy it…..It would only take 20 days to reach 1 million. We have till late October. =)

To visit my website and purchase Two Hundred Sixty-One: Vol. 1 from a variety of sources: http://www.whoissuresh.com

Click here to go directly to the iTunes Store page for Two Hundred Sixty-One: Vol. 1

Click here to buy and download the album from CDBaby

Click here to watch the video ad on YouTube

Click here for more information about the Canadian Cancer Society

Thank you all for your help =)

              Suresh S.

–iii-<

Amid the current media frenzy about Somali pirates, it’s hard not to imagine them as characters in some dystopian Horn of Africa version of Waterworld. We see wily corsairs in ragged clothing swarming out of their elusive mother ships, chewing narcotic khat while thumbing GPS phones and grappling hooks. They are not desperate bandits, experts say, rather savvy opportunists in the most lawless corner of the planet. But the pirates have never been the only ones exploiting the vulnerabilities of this troubled failed state — and are, in part, a product of the rest of the world’s neglect. (Read “No Surrender to Thugs.”)…continue reading on TIME.com

ROME (AP) — Rita Levi Montalcini, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist, said Saturday that even though she is about to turn 100, her mind is sharper than it was she when she was 20…continue reading at NYTimes.com.

By PHRED DVORAK

Thanks to a new law, Canada will bestow citizenship Friday on what its government believes could be hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting foreigners, most of them Americans.

The April 17 amendment to Canada’s Citizenship Act automatically restores Canadian nationality to many people forced to renounce it when they became citizens of another country. It also grants citizenship to their children…continue reading at WSJ.com.

By Gery Kissel
Energy Storage Systems Engineering Specialist

Next week during the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) conference in Detroit, the SAE J1772™ Task Force will continue its work by committee to standardize the components that will soon become part of one of the most common driver interactions with a plug-in electric vehicle - plugging in and charging the battery.

In order for plug-in electric vehicles to become part of the mainstream, a plug-in “ecosystem” must be in place when vehicles like the Chevy Volt extended-range electric vehicle hit the market. And for this ecosystem to be robust, there must be commonality, especially when owners are plugging into the electrical grid…continue reading on GM FastLane .

by Mike Krumboltz

In the 1980s, “The Cosby Show” owned Thursday nights. A big part of the show’s success was the crew of kids who populated Heathcliff Huxtable’s household. Now with one of the Cosby alum developing a reality show, we thought it high time for a Web check-in on all the kids…and man, there were a lot of ‘em. Here they are, ranked in order of Search popularity….continue reading on Yahoo! Buzz.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York Times Co’s flagship newspaper plans to eliminate several weekly sections and cut freelance spending to save millions of dollars in annual costs, according to a memo obtained by Reuters.

The Times’s moves, which it also reported through an article on its website on Thursday, is the latest effort to cut costs by the strugglingnewspaper publisher.

“Taken together, these moves will save millions of dollars — savings that would otherwise have to come out of payroll,” Executive Editor Bill Keller wrote to employees on Thursday…continue reading on Yahoo News.

Undercover can help you locate any lost or stolen iPhone or iPod.
Upon registration, you will receive your own Undercover account at https://www.retrievemyiphone.com. Every time the Undercover application is launched, the phone’s location and IP information is stored in your account. You can then login to your account to track the device.

If your iPhone is lost, you can set a message that will be displayed to the finder when he launches Undercover. In the meantime, Undercover will transmit your phone’s location….continue reading at Orbicule.com

by Richard Wray

Internet users have long known that spam emails - offering everything from cheap medicines and sex aids to get-rich-quick schemes - are an unwanted annoyance, but new research suggests that they are also hugely damaging to the environment.

More than 80% of the world’s email traffic is now spam and the transmission and receipt of unwanted email gobbles up 33bn kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, according to anti-virus software specialist McAfee. That is the equivalent of the electricity used by 2.1m US homes….continue reading at The Guardian .

By Alan Boyle

California’s biggest energy utility announced a deal Monday to purchase 200 megawatts of electricity from a startup company that plans to beam the power down to Earth from outer space, beginning in 2016.

San Francisco-based Pacific Gas & Electric said it was seeking approval from state regulators for an agreement to purchase power over a 15-year period from Solaren Corp., an 8-year-old company based in Manhattan Beach, Calif. The agreement was first reported in a posting to Next100, a Weblog produced by PG&E….continue reading at msnbc.com.

While the majority of Xbox 360 owners continue to have a great experience with their console, we are aware that a very small percentage of our customers have reported receiving an error that displays “E74” on their screen. After investigating the issue, we have determined that the E74 error message can indicate the general hardware failure that is associated with three flashing red lights error on the console. As a result, we have decided to cover repairs related to the E74 error message under our three-year warranty program for certain general hardware failures that was announced in July 2007….read more at Xbox.com .

By Clara Moskowitz

If you want to know whether your marriage will survive, look at your spouse’s yearbook photos.

Psychologists have found that how much people smile in old photographs can predict their later success in marriage.

In one test, the researchers looked at people’s college yearbook photos, and rated their smile intensity from 1 to 10. None of the people who fell within the top 10 percent of smile strength had divorced, while within the bottom 10 percent of smilers, almost one in four had had a marriage that ended, the researchers say. (Scoring was based on the stretch in two muscles: one that pulls up on the mouth, and one that creates wrinkles around the eyes.)…continue reading on LiveScience.com

(CNN) – Rapid-fire TV news bulletins or getting updates via social-networking tools such as Twitter could numb our sense of morality and make us indifferent to human suffering, scientists say.

New findings show that the streams of information provided by social networking sites are too fast for the brain’s “moral compass” to process and could harm young people’s emotional development.…continue reading onCNN.com

The April issue of French Elle features eight female European celebrities–including Eva Herzigova, Monica Bellucci, Sophie Marceau, and Charlotte Rampling–all without makeup and, perhaps even more revealing, all entirely without Photoshopping or retouching of any kind. The mag’s headline “Stars Sans Fards” translates to “without rouge/makeup,” but it’s a French saying that also suggests a sense of  “openness… continue reading on Shine.

By Camille Noe Pagán

It’s time for a new slim-down mantra: Eat more to weigh less. No joke! The right foods help you drop pounds by revving your calorie burn and curbing cravings. We consulted top experts for the best picks and asked leading chefs for easy, tasty ways to prepare them. Add these eats to your plate today and you’ll be slimmer and healthier in no time!

Steak

Beef has a rep as a diet buster, but eating it may help you peel off pounds….continue reading at elf.com.

By Lucy Danziger, SELF Editor-in-Chief

Diving into a plateful of healthy food can feel like doing your taxes: a necessary evil in order to keep you in the black…jeans you love, that is. But when the food is healthy and tastes great, too? Hallelujah! Luckily, we have some menus that will keep you slim, satisfied and genuinely surprised that healthy food can taste that good. …continue reading on Yahoo! Health.

LONDON (Reuters) - A new drug against Alzheimer’s disease, developed by British researchers, has shown promise in tests on a handful of patients.

A team at the University College London found the small molecule drug caused the disappearance of a protein called SAP, thought to be involved in the disease, from the brains of five Alzheimer’s patients who took it for three months….continue reading at Reuters.com.

Britain’s Got Talent sensation Susan Boyle has revealed the childhood bullying torment that spurred her bid for stardom.

Susan, 48, wowed judges and viewers with her version of hit West End show tune I Dreamed A Dream as the ITV1 series returned last night.

But she told how as a youngster she was ruthlessly mocked by other kids because being starved of oxygen at birth left her with learning difficulties.

Her ordeal saw her seek comfort in singing - a talent she discovered when she was five…continue reading at mirror.co.uk.

by Paul Evans

 There is much excitement and publicity surrounding the launch of the long awaited all electric sedan from Tesla Motors and more details have emerged since the Tesla Model S was unveiled. The specs that have officially been announced are not yet substantial enough for a full technical review at this stage, but we do know that the EV sedan has a top speed of 130 mph, is capable of 0-60 in 5.6 seconds, charges in 45 minutes and has a 160 mile (256 km) range with the standard battery option. According to the company’s website we can expect to see an AWD option somewhere in the future and although it’s not not officially stated, according to reporters at the the unveiling who were able to question Tesla engineers the Model S will be rear wheel drive (RWD) in its standard configuration…continue reading on gizmag.com

By Robert A. Guth

BELLEVUE, Wash. — A quarter-century ago, American rocket scientists proposed the “Star Wars” defense system to knock Soviet missiles from the skies with laser beams. Some of the same scientists are now aiming their lasers at another airborne threat: the mosquito.

In a lab in this Seattle suburb, researchers in long white coats recently stood watching a small glass box of bugs. Every few seconds, a contraption 100 feet away shot a beam that hit the buzzing mosquitoes, one by one, with a spot of red light…continue reading at WSJ.com.

By SUSAN DOMINUS

This year may be a disastrous one for the global economy, but it’s shaping up to be one of the best that Heather Eisenlord has enjoyed in a good long while. Granted, that might not be saying much: For the past five years, Ms. Eisenlord has been an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, a notably grueling place for a lawyer to work….continue reading at NYTimes.com.

by Jonathan Leake and Georgia Warren

Facebook users may feel socially successful in cyberspace but they are more likely to perform poorly in exams, according to new research into the academic impact of the social networking website.

The majority of students who use Facebook every day are underachieving by as much as an entire grade compared with those who shun the site….continue reading at Times Online .

(CBS)  When Americans are wounded in Afghanistan or Iraq, no expense is spared to save their lives. But once they’re home, if they have suffered an amputation of their arm, they usually end up wearing an artificial limb that hasn’t changed much since World War II. 

In all the wonders of modern medicine, building a robotic arm with a fully functioning hand has not been remotely possible…continue reading at CBS News.

By Soyoung Kim

DETROIT (Reuters) - Shares of General Motors Corp plunged 16 percent on Monday as traders shed positions out of fear the U.S. government will push the automaker into a bankruptcy that could wipe out existing equity.

GM, which is operating under $13.4 billion of emergency government loans, has until June 1 to win sweeping concessions from bondholders and the United Auto Workers union.

The Obama administration has warned that the alternative would be bankruptcy…continue reading at Reuters.com

by Matt Mitovich

Apparently even Simon Cowell is mortal.

The man who brings a certain something to American Idol, its across-the-pond predecessor, X Factor, and Britain’s Got Talent, is beginning to question whether he can keep the candle burning at all three ends. And that’s not even factoring in his work as a music producer….continue reading at TVGuide.com.

By Alun Taylor

‘Leccy Tech As an answer to those who say e-cars will never take off because their range is limited, this isn’t at all bad. A Tesla Roadster managed to cover 241 miles on a single charge while taking part in the Rallye Monte Carlo d’Energies Alternatives.

Organised by the Automobile Club of Monaco, the annual rally is open to cars powered by just about any ‘alternative’ fuel source, such as LPG, ethanol or even petrol-powered hybrid drives.…continue reading at Register Hardware.

by Tom Espiner

A research team lead by professor Mir Behrad Khamesee manipulated magnetic fields to levitate and move a robot weighing less than one gramme around three axes, according to a paper seen by ZDNet UK —MechMN: Design and Implementation of a Micromanipulation System using a Magnetically Levitated MEMS Robot.

An array of electromagnets is used to create a three-dimensional parabolic magnetic field. The robot is magnetised itself and sits on top of the parabola, supported by the interaction between its own magnetic field and that created by the electromagnets. Altering the flow of current in the electromagnet distorts the field and moves the robot, Khamesee told ZDNet UK in an email interview on Thursday.

“We develop a focal point of a magnetic field in space, which the microrobot hangs on,”…continue reading at ZDNet.co.uk.

By LESLIE WILLIAMS

FORT MYERS — It could have ended so differently.

Five people on board a plane that took off from Marco Island Executive Airport on Sunday got back on the ground safely after the pilot of their private plane died mid-air.

One passenger assisted by three air traffic controllers and a pilot relaying cockpit instructions from Connecticut worked together to avoid further tragedy….continue reading at Naples Daily News.

Written By: Tristan Guillford

Cyberdyne Corporation of Japan, in conjunction with Daiwa House, has begun mass production of a cybernetic bodysuit that augments body movement and increases user strength by up to tenfold…continue reading at| h+ Magazine.

by Justin Yu

Thanks to David Van Sickle, we’ll soon be able to track (and hopefully eliminate) recurring asthma attack outbreaks. Sickle, a scholar in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is working with students in the biomedical engineering program to create an asthma inhaler with a built-in GPS receiver….continue reading on CNET.com

click here for more info at Logitech.com

Yup, it’s a bra for MEN!

Translated version of http://item.rakuten.co.jp/wishroom/mensbra/.

By KATE PICKERT

Fast food chains are notoriously cagey about telling consumers how their food gets from the field to the feedlot to the drive-thru window. Hope Jahren, a researcher at the University of Hawaii, believes consumers have a right to know how their food is made. She is the co-author of a new study that sampled almost 500 fast food items from McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King and proved what many Americans may already suspect: On a chemical level, the vast majority of fast food meat derives from a single source: corn. She did this by following the vegetable’s unique chemical markers that persist even after it’s been processed and mixed with other ingredients or eaten as cattle feed. (Corn is heavily used in feedlots to fatten cows up before slaughter.) Fast food critics say a single-source, corn-based diet is unsustainable, because the commodity is is heavily subsidized by the government and requires large amounts of fertilizer, water and fuel. TIME talked Jahren about why fast food represents the American diet, what we have in common with Germans and why fast food restaurants are depressing…continue reading on  - TIME.com

By MADHUR SINGH / NEW DELHI

Indolent cows languidly chewing their cud while befuddled motorists honk and maneuver their vehicles around them are images as stereotypically Indian as saffron-clad holy men and the Taj Mahal. Now, however, India’s ubiquitous cows — of which there are 283 million, more than anywhere else in the world — have assumed a more menacing role as they become part of the climate change debate….continue reading on - TIME.com

The Easter Bunny, in case you’ve been living in a cave, on Mars, with your fingers in your ears, is an anthropomorphic, egg-laying rabbit who sneaks into homes the night before Easter to deliver baskets full of colored eggs, toys and chocolate. A wise man once told me that “all religions are beautiful and all religions are wacko,” but even if you allow for miracles, angels, and pancake Jesus, the Easter Bunny really comes out of left field…read more at mental_floss Blog

Amy Gips loves her one-bedroom apartment in a swank Manhattan building that features a gym, golf simulator, yoga studio, and massage rooms. But she no longer feels she can justify paying $4,400 a month in rent, especially now that her ex-boyfriend has moved out.

A week ago, just as the 27-year-old associate at a private equity fund was planning her next move, a letter arrived from the property management company. The rent for the 750-square-foot Chelsea apartment with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Madison Square Park was reduced $900, or about 20%. It changed her calculus, though she hasn’t given up on the idea of shopping around for something under $3,000 a month, with one or two months of free rent thrown in…continue reading at BusinessWeek.

By Lori Bongiorno

Can a couple of cardboard boxes, black paint, tin foil, and an acrylic cover help solve major environmental and social problems? Forum for the Future certainly thinks it’s possible.

The Kyoto Box, a surprisingly simple solar-powered cooker, won a $75,000 first prize in the sustainability group’s climate competition…read more at Yahoo! Green.

- by David S. Cloud - POLITICO.com

When he came in as defense secretary during the Bush administration, Robert Gates defined his job as fixing the war in Iraq. 

Now he is attempting to do something far more complex: refashion the Pentagon budget for the next war…read more at POLITICO.com.

After dinner last night, I lost my usual self-control and ate half a box of cookies. No  wonder. My self-control had been under pressure all day. I righteously refused a muffin at breakfast, didn’t scream at my kid to get out the door although we were late, made a conscious decision not to run over a pedestrian crossing against the light, kept my fist from pounding on the table during a faculty meeting, and resisted the urge to throw an annoying student out of my office…read more

A Note to the Community

On December 15, 2008, an unofficial student organization calling themselves the New School in Exile occupied the cafeteria at 65 Fifth Avenue, barricaded themselves into the room, and issued a set of demands.  Early on the morning of December 16, a group of students and non-students broke through a fire exit on 14th street and entered the building.  

Although the occupants had violated a number of important security rules, the university made the judgment they were neither an operational or a security risk. Accordingly, we did not file a complaint with the New York Police Department to have the occupants removed. Instead we entered into a process of negotiations with our students and reached agreement on a list of demands including amnesty for all involved early on the morning of December 17.  The students left peacefully at that time.

In January, this same unofficial student organization issued a public threat to forcefully shut down the university on April 1 unless the President and Chief Operating Officer were removed.   Following this they were caught stealing an entire edition of the student newspaper on account of a story they regarded as unfavorable to them; and subsequently they vandalized the university’s presidential residence.  

During this time the university has allowed and accommodated every peaceful protest, teach-in, and demonstration.   We have enforced our rules governing such events in such a way as to permit protests, so long as they don’t endanger the safety of other members of the community or destruction of property.  

This morning’s illegal occupation of 65 Fifth Avenue was joined by a number of New School in Exile students as well as individuals without any affiliation to The New School. Their claim that this was a simple political protest is false.  Their entry into this building was forced, they removed a man who was cleaning the building, took his phone, injured a security officer, and did physical damage to the building.  

Accordingly, in this case the university asked the New York Police Department to remove and arrest those who were trespassing on our property. We suspended, pending administrative review, all New School students who were a part of this action.

The New School prides itself on civic engagement. We have been and will continue to be a refuge for open and critical political debate.  Students and faculty who choose to peacefully and passionately oppose the policies of the university will have their rights to do so protected as strongly as we protect our right to safely and securely operate our university.

- President Bob Kerrey

Click here for the video and here for the full article

click here to read the full article at NYTimes.com

click here for The New School’s response

Well done record labels. Keep doing your thang and you won’t be more than a library for old copyrights...read more

A few years ago, my friend Chris Macivor asked me if I wanted to help out with this book he was going to illustrate. He said he couldn’t pay me, but I would get a percentage of the profits. I told him I didn’t have time for something that wasn’t a sure thing. Now the latest volume in that very SERIES of books is one of the top 10 selling Yoga books on Amazon.com and I’m still broke as a joke, heh heh. Check out the website for some amazing anatomical animations and more information about the books.

Bandha Yoga: Scientific Keys to Unlock the Practice of Hatha Yoga.

 I know a lot of people who would like to buy a Mac but decide against it because of Apple’s prices. Without getting into a long discussion about how the total cost of ownership is probably less when you buy a Mac, there’s a safe, easy [and completely legal] way to buy a Mac with a warranty FROM APPLE for a little less. Apple’s online store has a page where you can buy refurbished and earlier generation products directly from them. I recommend going for the refurbished products since the discounts on the previous generation are trivial.

The important point is, you get the same free 1 year warranty on parts & labour that they offer with new products, and you can upgrade to the optional 2-3 year Applecare warranty anytime before the free 1 year warranty expires. The first 3 Macs I bought were all refurbished and although I had to get the speakers on the 2001 iMac G3 repaired [for free free since it was under warranty] before I sold it, the other 2 worked without a problem and are STILL running fine 5 and 4 years later.

Here’s the link to the Apple Store’s “Special Deals” page:

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals?mco=MzAyNDk3NA

 I’m usually not too impressed with relationship between athletes and money or how universities treat their students, but this is a nice story about generosity.

Courtney Paris to create community fund - College Women’s Basketball - Rivals.com.

TIME Magazine’s list of Top 10 films about Jesus - TIME.

I’m sure we all wish we could “unsend” at least one email we’ve sent…read more

We’re talking super green here. One hundred percent of the city’s energy will come from the sun. Electric cars will have charging stations all over the city. It’ll co-exist with thousands of acres of the natural Florida landscape. It will all be greener than The Incredible Hulk’s pinky toe…read more

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Since March of 2009, The Michael Scott Paper Company has been on the forefront of the paper supply industry. Founded in Scranton, PA, by renowned entrepreneur, Michael Scott, The Michael Scott Paper Company is committed to offering primo service, primo paper, at cheapo prices to all of its customers. Know that when you buy paper from The Michael Scott Paper Company, you’re buying from Scranton (the people that work here are from Scranton, the paper is made in China or Maine or whatever). The Michael Scott Paper Company, the paper company of tomorrow, today…read more

People perceived as the most likely to succeed might also be the most likely to crumble under pressure.

A new study finds that individuals with high working-memory capacity, which normally allows them to excel, crack under pressure and do worse on simple exams than when allowed to work with no constraints. Those with less capacity score low, too, but they tend not to be affected by pressure…read more.

Check it out at www.jakesaslow.com

read more

“South Park” may have accomplished the impossible — getting Kanye West to check his ego.

The Comedy Central show skewered the famously self-important rapper on its show Wednesday night, painting him as a narcissistic figure so out of touch with reality he couldn’t even take a (very politically incorrect) joke.

West’s love of himself and his work has been almost as integral to his image as his music: Just last year, he told The Associated Press that he was the “voice of this generation.” Also recently, he was quoted as saying his greatest regret was not being able to see himself perform live…read more

In the latest effort to bridge the disconnect between the government and new media, the Library of Congress officially launched its YouTube channel Tuesday.
The debut includes 70 historical videos from its vast collection, such as the first-ever movie (a man sneezing), 100-year-old films from the Thomas Edison studio and industrial films from Westinghouse factories….read more

By Andrea Thompson

Hold on to your hats, or in this case, your helmets: Scientists have finally pinpointed the so-called edge of space — the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.

With data from a new instrument developed by scientists at the University of Calgary, scientists confirmed that space begins 73 miles (118 kilometers) above Earth’s surface.

A lot remains very fuzzy, however, as the boundary is surrounded by a host of misconceptions and confusing, conflicting definitions…read more

by Lyndsey Parker in Reality Rocks

When I learned that Kanye West would be onAmerican Idol this week, my mind boggled. I was more confused by this prospect than Paula Abdul is when she mixes up her medications. Was Kanye actually going to be a mentor? Past celebrity mentors on various genre-specific themed episodes of Idol have included Dolly Parton, Burt Bacharach, Barry Gibb, Neil Diamond, Gwen Stefani, and Stevie Wonder, so ‘Ye would certainly be in good company if that were the case…but then again, all of those people can, you know, actually SING. Kanye giving vocal pointers to this season’s American Idolhopefuls would only be appropriate, really, if this week’s theme was Auto-Tunes Night….read more

The news about all the amazing ways eating—NOT dieting—can improve your health, help you lose weight and give you all-day energy just keeps getting better and better. In fact, new research shows that certain nutrients found in loads of foods are powerful factors when it comes to balancing blood sugar and encouraging weight loss. Here are four that can have a powerful effect on your weight, your energy level and your long-term health…read more

Last week President Obama lifted restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and asked the National Institutes of Health to come up with a funding game plan within 120 days. Yet while the field of stem cell research holds great promise, hype and misconceptions cloud the picture. Here are a five such misconceptions…read more

by Christopher Lampton

With gas prices fluctuating and the economy in an unpredictable state, drivers are constantly looking for ways to save money at the pump. The most obvious way to get a little savings is to opt for regular unleaded gasoline and instantly save around 20 cents per gallon over the premium stuff. In most states premium gasoline is defined as gas having an octane rating of 91 or 92 — regular typically has an octane rating of 87. But will using a lower-grade gasoline actually hurt your car’s engine? This is an especially important question if you own a luxury car, because the manufacturers of most luxury vehicles recommend premium gas…read more

By Brandon Keim

Growing up poor isn’t merely hard on kids. It might also be bad for their brains. A long-term study of cognitive development in lower- and middle-class students found strong links between childhood poverty, physiological stress and adult memory…read more

Just hours before the Texas State Board of Education held its final hearings on the science education standards that would be put in place for the next decade, I set my kitchen timer for three minutes. I practiced my testimony among open jars of peanut butter and jelly strewn about from making kids’ lunches. Ding. I still had my conclusion to read. What could I cut?…read more

– by Juli Berwald for Wired.com

General Motors got billions of tax dollars and came up with a 2 person Segway after scrapping a perfectly functional electric car in the 90’s because they didn’t have the balls to stand up to the oil companies.

I think it’s time America started looking for new automakers……oh wait! here’s an electric sedan that runs 300 miles on a single charge

read more

http://omg.yahoo.com/news/bill-o-reilly-blasts-eminem-for-mocking-sarah-palin-in-video/21072?nc

“Few Americans take the vile rapper Eminem seriously,” he said. “He represents the lowest form of entertainment in this country and is a publicity hound to boot.”

easily becomes:

“Few people take the vile Bill O’Reilly seriously,” he said. “He represents the lowest form of entertainment in this country and is a publicity hound to boot.”

p.s. although I agree with O’Reilly when he points out how the media would be all over Eminem if he was targeting Hilary Clinton or Michelle Obama, I also enjoy the irony that I would have never even have known about the Eminem rap if O’Reilly didn’t make a big stink about it.

p.p.s. yes, I’m aware that I’ve given also Bill O’Reilly more of an audience this time.