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Friday Video – Independence Day two-fer: The Beatles and Rage Against the Machine

July 1, 2011 / David Medsker

Granted, neither of these songs is actually about the American Revolution, but last time we checked, there weren’t a whole lot of songs written about The Revolutionary War that would make for good background music during happy hour, so we’re going with songs that approach the theme, if not the subject. First up, the only band that matters: The Beatles.

There is a great story about Paul McCartney showing up at a record release party for the Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet, where lucky members of the public are hearing “Sympathy for the Devil” and “Street Fighting Man” for the first time, and they’re duly impressed. So Paul, innocently or not so innocently, asked if he could play an acetate of a couple tracks the Beatles had just recorded. They said sure, and Paul drops “Hey Jude” and “Revolution,” at which point Mick Jagger is absolutely furious because once again, the Beatles are two steps ahead of the Stones. And at their own record release party, no less. Ow.

There are no entertaining stories around our second song, though. The music video is a giant plea for lenience in the case against Leonard Peltier, a Nativa American activist who received to consecutive life sentences in 1977 for the deaths of two FBI agents. All right, who wants to party? Woooooooo!

Music, Videos

Freedom Friday Videos Happy Hour Rage Against the Machine Revolution The Beatles The White Album video of the week

Rockport Day-to-Night Wingtips review

June 27, 2011 / admin

Looking ahead to fall what styles will catch our eye? What are the latest trends in shoes? Rockport clued Bullz-Eye in on a few of their star releases and our feet thanked them for the gesture. We first tested the Rockport “D2N Wingtip” in which are Suede wingtips in winter smoke colorway and let me tell you my friends these are some very sharp shoes. They will be released in July 2011 and they are eye grabbing footwear.

Comfort is right on target with leather lining that provides moisture absorption and abrasion resistance. The premium suede is easy to clean and the leather socklining provides durable moisture absorption and sonforms to the shape of your foot. These Day to Night Wintips are some of the most comfortable shoes I’ve worn in many a moons. I found out part of the reason is that the footbed incorporates Adidas Adiprene highly shock absorbent cushioning which protects the heel at impact. As far as the classic look is concerned the Italian leather and rubber outsole provides durability and helps protect the product life. Looking good in the box is one thing but with Rockport quality the D2N Wingtips will provide plenty of mileage for those who appreciate the best for your feet.

These kicks from Rockport are Fall 2011 styles and will be available for retail at Rockport retail stores and Rockport.com!

Gear, Lifestyle, Stuff to Buy, Style

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New things from Ford

June 25, 2011 / Gerardo Orlando

We joined Ford this past weekend in Dearborn with bloggers from all over the country to see what Ford has in store for the future. How does a car company deal with changing times and new trends? All companies have to react to the changing world around them and marketplace developments, but spotting trends early can be a big advantage if a company is nimble enough to capitalize on these trends.

Some of the subjects addressed included Living Green, Aging Population and Youth Influence and Global Convergence of Design. Malcolm Gladwell kicked off the event with a keynote speech that addressed the issues of change. Gladwell is always entertaining, but I learned much more when we got to see up-close some of the real trends Ford is addressing and how they are directly impacting products.

Other companies may have been first with green initiatives like electric cars and plug-in hybrids, but Ford is pushing very hard in these areas and we’ll see new vehicles in 2012. Ford has teamed up with well-known conservation and green advocate Ed Begley Jr. who gave us a compelling presentation on what was coming from Ford in this area. Some of the changes are not obvious. One interesting innovation involves soy-based foam which is being used in the seats of cars. This foam is biodegradable and offers a great alternative to petroleum-based foam products.

We got to spend time with J Mays in the Ford Design Center and I was blown away by what they can do now in the design process. Everything is digital, and now they can see and test everything on a massive digital high def screen that covered the entire wall in a large room in the design center. Digital version of the car concepts can be places in all sorts of digital settings so the designers can see what the car can really look like in real life, all the way down to how different types of light would reflect off of different paint jobs, Even the promo “photographs” are now digitally created which saves on time and money.

On the last day we had the opportunity to drive a bunch of Ford vehicles in different settings on the test track in order to learn about various Ford vehicles and initiatives. The events were fun and I learned quite a bit. I started with the F-150 drag races and managed to win my heat. I definitely enjoyed the feeling of flooring the truck from a dead stop on a straightaway!

The most revealing exhibit involved the all-new Ford Explorer. Ford had a series of dirt hills and other obstacles built so we could put the new Explorer to the test in off-road setting. They were showing off the vehicle’s Terrain Management System and I came away very impressed. The system takes the guesswork out of 4WD capabilities. Drivers can pick from four settings – Normal, Mud, Sand and Snow. It was a breeze going up and down steep dirt hills.

It was definitely an eye-opening weekend, so we’re expecting some big things from Ford over the next couple of years.

Cars

Alan Mulally Dearborn drive events Ed Begley Jr.ford Ford cars ford explorer Ford F-150 Ford Forward J Mays Malcolm Gladwell new car trends new cars US car companies

Drink of the Week: Tom Collins

June 24, 2011 / Bob Westal

Summer is on in earnest now. Even here at drink-of-the-week central, in late-to-warm-up semi-coastal Southern California, the temps are finally starting to hit the eighties. So, it’s time to highlight some good warm weather drinks and Tom Collins is an excellent place to start. Though the genesis of the name remains a topic of speculations — we’d go into it, but it’s just too hot — and rather nasty Collins mixes have besmirched its mysterious monicker, this is an excellent and easy to make classic refreshment. It’s also substantially less rich in sugar and calories than drinks containing pre-made sodas, including the venerable gin and tonic. (Tonic water might taste slightly bitter, but it’s as high in calories as most sugary sodas.)

Tom Collins

2 ounces gin
1-2 ounces lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons superfine sugar
Soda water
Lemon slice and maraschino cherry (garnish)

Dissolve sugar in lemon juice in, naturally, a Collins glass. Add ice, gin and fill the balance with soda water. Stir with swizzle stick or cocktail spoon, add lemon wedge and a very optional maraschino cherry as garnish.

As you can see, we’ve left a considerable amount of wiggle room here. If you like your drinks very tart, use two ounces of lemon juice and one teaspoon of sugar. If you have a slight sweet-tooth like we do, use just one ounce of lemon juice and 2 teaspoons of superfine sugar. It’s still fairly tart but not alarmingly so, and those two teaspoons of sugar only have 32 calories, about half of what you’d get out of half a can of soda. Of course, the gin has more.

Speaking of gin, there are, of course many variations using other booze. The most popular being the vodka Collins and John Collins (aka, the whiskey collins). We love the latter a lot, but looking at the Wikipedia entry for the drink, we’re joansing to try the Jose Collins (with tequila, naturally), the Ron Collins (with rum), or the Sandy Collins (with Scotch). On the other hand, we have no desire to try the Phil Collins, a mocktail, which substitutes 7-Up for the booze. However, we are still trying to figure out a good “Susudio” joke, except that there probably is no such thing…

Food & Drink, Lifestyle, Vices

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Friday Video – Gary Numan, “Cars”

June 24, 2011 / David Medsker

Following last week’s tribute to “The Green Lantern” with a couple of green-themed songs, we would have been fools not to take advantage of a similar tie-in with a certain Pixar movie that a certain someone’s four-year-old son is positively dying to see. Maybe we’ll see someone singing this at a karaoke bar during one of the Tokyo scenes. (As it turns out, no one sings “Cars,” but Weezer sings “You Might Think” by the Cars. And it’s pretty lame.)

It seems amazing that this song was such a big hit at the time. Not because it didn’t deserve to be, because it absolutely did, but because there wasn’t anything else on American radio at the time that sounded remotely like it. What’s even more impressive is how well the song has held up sonically. Whenever someone makes a record using cutting-edge technology, it almost instantly sounds dated. Not this song, and it’s likely because Numan was smart enough to use real drums and an analog bass to anchor the track.