Looking for a new form of poker to start playing? Interested in playing one of the few forms of poker where you play merely against luck, not the house or other players? Interested in prepping for Vegas, but without any large risk? If so, then the new game from Avalinx is the perfect game for you. Let‘Em Ride PRO is yet another quality release in Avalinx’s PRO series of iPhone Games. Play against Lady Luck as you attempt to earn as many pixelated chips as you can. With controls over every single aspect of the game, from the looks of the cards to the style of the shuffling, you can get this game to be exactly what you want. Let’Em Ride PRO can do all of this, and more, for only $4.99. Let’Em Ride PRO has several nice features that make it well worth your money. The interface of the application — with its smooth renderings, vibrant colors, and changeable looks — makes this game ideal for everybody. Additionally, the overall layout looks exceptionally clean and is well planned. You can navigate and play without any problems using your fingers, even if they are as huge as mine. All of the options are also exceptionally easy to find. Similar to all other games in the PRO series, Let’Em Ride PRO feels as polished and perfected as something Apple would put out for the iPhone. My favorite part of Let’Em Ride PRO is the actual game play. While the interface is nice, this part easily steals the attention. From betting, to riding/bringing down your bet, the game play is well done. It actually feels almost natural (save for the fact that you are holding a three inch long rectangle), and it does emulate the actual dealing style quite well. Plus, if you don’t quite know what to do, the PRO series offers an ‘ask the dealer’ option, which should help you out in those tricky situations. The graphics, which can normally distract from an otherwise great game, are of no concern here as they are flawless and vibrant. Another good part of Let’Em Ride PRO, and all of the PRO series, are the extras. By clicking on ‘Master the Game’ in the main menu, you can then learn quite a lot about the real Let Them Ride poker game. There is the ‘Rules and Terminology’ section, which is great for new players or people used to playing with other gambling platforms. The ‘Strategy’ section, which teaches you when to Ride, and when to Bring Down, helps you prepare for your trip to the local Indian Casino. Lastly, there is the ‘Payouts’ section, which, very simply, tells you the payouts. All of these sections are a nice addition to the game.
English four-piece Late of the Pier released Fantasy Black Channel in the UK way back in June of 2008. Fans ate it up, the kids went mad, and the British music rags sopped it up with four-to-five star ratings. As though to tell us we’re finally ready for all of the magnitude this bloody thing has to let loose upon us, the record was finally released in North America on January 13, 2009. Now sure, it’s really easy to yawn past another British debut. In fact, nobody seems to have quite the gift for hyperbole as the NME people or other UK music mag writers. With NME claiming that Late of the Pier “are rapidly making most other British bands seem like primitive, drooling Luddites by comparison” and Uncut telling us that these guys are the British answer to 2008 darlings MGMT, the praise is ceaselessly high. Putting that aside, just how good are Late of the Pier anyways and just how fucking endlessly wicked is Fantasy Black Channel? For starters, these four Castle Donington cats aren’t afraid of making pop music with an enigmatically untidy frame. There appears to be no genre-busting exercise that they won’t buckle down and attempt, as Late of the Pier’s debut record is slammed and jammed with several tracks of hard-nosed gusto and plucky energy. Bubbling over with synth seriousness, danceable thumping, psychedelic pop waves, and a whole lot of experimental lunacy, Fantasy Black Channel shifts genres without trepidation and doesn’t mind wearing Gary Numan, Frank Zappa, and Queen influences right out in the open flanking the nods to the Klaxons and all things eternally fucking cheeky. After all, how ballsy do you have to be to take a trip through the hallway of spandex rock right before twisting down a throaty techno bypass? Fantasy Black Channel is so bold that it shifts gears, often in mid-song and mid-goddamn-sentence. Let a track like “Space in the Woods” take you for a drive and you’ll wind up in a much different place than where you started from with its pulsating disco beat, slimy guitar accents, and vocalist Samuel Dust’s dark declarations. “The Enemy Are the Future” finds Dust contemplating the end of himself (once more) as a churched-out organ swells behind him begging for donations. A few bumps later and the song starts struggling to life, unfolding like a crated jack-in-the-box popping up for a nibble. Drummer and percussionist Rouge Dog Consuela sets a ripping start to “The Bears are Coming,” a cut that rumbles with electronic correctness and makes no apologies for its industrial tone. And “Bathroom Gurgle” loads up with Francis Dudley Dance’s low bass and an enormously addictive Jack Paradise synth scrap. Heavy on the glam-rock sheen and bursting with audacious and impenitent tang, Late of the Pier’s Fantasy Black Channel should stand out as one of the first truly great records to grace North American shores in 2009. Anthemic, pure, and electrifying, this is one band I’ll be watching closely.
Is there a way to compress the already frenetic Jeopardy television game show into something just under six minutes and retain its most important elements? Yes, and the increasingly popular Minisode Network – the network that streamlines entire episodes down to five minutes of straight-to-the-plot video – was bound to figure out how. Some would say that the broadcast version of Jeopardy would benefit from giving Alex Trebek less time to make clumsy jokes, often playing off awkward contestants. Now, those who thrill from the answer and question portion of the show, and who twitch uncontrollaby while time stands still during Final Jeopardy, can stop being ashamed of their impatience and go straight for the candy. I watched an entire Jeopardy College Championship final (two episodes) while eating lunch and still kept to my normal, self-imposed, twenty-minute break. Jeopardy is just one show on the vast Minisode Network menu, pulling from Sony Television's immense media library of memorable meat and potatoes shows such as He-Man, Married with Children, Charlie's Angels, Square Pegs, and so many more. The network distributes its condensed streaming programs through the sites you are probably already used to browsing: YouTube, Crackle.com, Hulu, and Joost, to name a few. The only drawback is that it takes some commitment on the part of the would-be Minisode Network junkie to find the programming they want. From the network's home page, I had to jump to one of the other portals mentioned above where I was often forced to search for something to watch. Of the portals available, Crackle and Hulu offered the best organized format for me to easily browse shows and episodes. I would have tried out the mobile minisode content available to Sprint and Verizon subscribers, but my phone wasn't capable. Having quick content available on my phone would certainly improve the quality of time sitting in the dentist's waiting room, though, so an upgrade might be worthwhile. There is certain to be something on the Minisode Network for everyone, so take a few moments to check out the content for a quick fix of television gold that won't interfere with any other plans.
Year end lists are not an easy thing to do, and generally are of little interest outside of looking at others in hopes of justifying your own likes. Still, I enjoy the task and look forward to the end of each year to once again try and come up with something to share with anyone who chooses to peek. The biggest problem I run into each year (and something I hope to change in 2009) is that I never keep close track of my new discoveries each year. So, I am left to work off of my memory and take a look over what I reviewed throughout the year (and double checking their release dates). The end results for the 2008 campaign is a 22-album list. Something I noticed while going over my listenings is that I did not stray too far into esoteric stuff. Most of the titles that stick to my memory are pretty close to the mainstream. However, with that said, they should not be dismissed too easily as even mainstream bands can release good music too. Furthermore, I want to thank everyone who has recommended artists too me; I need to start keeping a list. Please keep them coming, I do not know when I will get to them, but I do appreciate them. On to the albums of 2008! They are in no particular order beyond the top 5, and remember this is not intended as a "best of" and is intended for informational purposes only. Outside of that, I hope you enjoyed some of these albums as much as I did. Warrel Dane – Praise to the War Machine. This is an album I was not expecting a lot from, but from the very first listen I knew I loved it. I have become a Nevermore fan over the years and really like Dane's voice. The material here is distinctly different from Nevermore and feels a lot more personal. Warrel Dane's voice is powerful and carries so much emotional weight that it is hard to ignore. Now, it is not only his voice that makes this album so good, but the music and lyrics as well. It really is a complete package. Favorite tracks: "When We Pray," "August," "The Day the Rats Went to War," and "Brother." Gojira – The Way of All Flesh. Ever since I first experienced Gojira live, back in 2007, I have been in love with this French metal act. They floored me with their impeccable musicianship, songwriting, and sheer heaviness. It took me a while to get a copy of The Way of All Flesh (long story), but one listen and I knew the love affair was destined to continue. They remind me of a metal jam band, a tighter version of Mastodon perhaps. I know, not a terribly good analogy, but it works. This new album shows the band improving their song writing while keeping everything heavy and brutal, even showing stronger musicianship. This is a band to definitely keep an eye on. Favorite Tracks: "Toxic Garbage Island," "Vacuity," "A Sight to Behold," and "The Art of Dying."
With the shutdown of McColo by Internet Service Providers in November, global spam volumes dropped over 50 percent. Sadly, this appears to have been a short-term fix. According to a new Symantec report, the spammers have moved to new locations and the volumes are back up to 80 percent of pre-McColo levels. While spam originates from a lot of places, the United States is still in the number one spot, with 27 percent of the spam observed originating from there. China and Brazil tied for second place with 7 percent of spam originating from these countries. The report indicates that URLs in Canadian Pharmacy spam messages were noted as being top-level Chinese domains (.cn TLD). Could this mean that Chinese knock-off (counterfeit) prescriptions are trying to make it appear as if they are coming from Canada? Given the recent concerns of tainted and poisonous merchandise being exported from China, this might be a concern. Of course, I would think that buying prescription meds over the Internet should be a concern to most people, anyway. In another variation of recently observed spam, a user is invited to join a social networking site. The link goes to a real group, which was created on the social networking site by the spammer. The group then links to a free blogging site, which redirects the victim to the ultimate destination URL. At the destination URL, personal information is requested, which is probably used to sell to marketing companies or used in other spam campaigns. Please note, although not mentioned in the report, that some of these campaigns might have malicious intent or be scams. Also noted during the holiday season was a lot of e-Card spam. This spam sometimes comes with malware (malicious software) designed to steal personal and financial information or turn your machine in to a spam spewing zombie computer using your credentials.
If it’s around-the-clock partying you crave, Berlin is already an embarrassment of riches. Now Germany’s club capital has a new kid on the block. Occupying an abandoned electricity station, Dice has all the credentials to rival the big players like Watergate and Berghain/Panoramabar. According to Beatportal, the club’s three rooms (including a terrace for “after hours Sunday sessions”) are installed with Funktion 1 soundsystems and lighting from the same whizzes who did the Watergate fit-out. Dice is located at Voltairestr 5 in Mitte. Crucially, the musical trimmings will be just as classy. The likes of Luke Solomon, Simon Baker, Gabriel Ananda and Aril Brikha are all locked in for Dice’s opening spell – with more on the Berlin-patented house and techno tip sure to follow. Photo from Beatportal
Thoughts turned to my re-issue pile this week and part of me quivered in anticipation. I shall be doing my best to cull a few from the pile each week as the new release scheduled quiets a bit before the big spring push. Apocalyptica: World Collide A bit late to the party on this one, as it was released in 2007, and it seemed to have passed me by. As someone who has been following the band since its days as “cellos covering Metallica” each new album intrigues me. As is their want these days there are several guest vocalists on here including Lacuna Coil’s Christina Scabbia on “S.O.S. (Anything but Love)”. This song sounds quite a bit like her original band, but with lots more cellos than usual. Its quite a good female-fronted goth metal track and quite enjoyable. I'm not sure the collaboration with Corey Taylor of Slipknot/Stone Sour fame, “I’m not Jesus,” works as well, ditto the track with the bloke from Three Days Grace. In fact, most every song on here features someone or other from the metal scene. Then again Apocalyptica are a talented band and pretty hot at the moment, so no one worth their salt would turn them down. It doesn’t strike as their best effort, but that is not to say it's bad. This band rarely do anything awful. Still, I have to say I would love to hear more of the cellos and less of the stuff that sounds like “bog-standard” metal with a dash of cellos. A good album, but just not a great one. Scale the Summit: Carving Desert Canyons Don’t know that much about this lot and confess to never have heard of them before, but I like what I hear. I would call them a slightly heavier Dream Theater without the tendency to over-do things. Prog-metal that is, for the most part, kept to a reasonable length and with the bounds of patience (nothing 10+ minutes). This is a great sound-track to driving, when you want to think and don’t want words getting in the way. It's damn well played stuff that really does rise about the morass of similar stuff out there, which as you well know I have a major soft spot for. It is very accessible and you find yourself not missing the words in any way. It takes a while to even miss them to be honest. I love the soaring nature of the track “Sargasso Sea” which just draws you into the waves of music that flow through it.
Are you an aspiring amateur chef looking for a big hit with the family? Got a BIG dinner with the boss planned and have no idea what to cook? Kid tells you at the last second that you need to bring an appetizer to school that night? If you said YES to any of the above, or if you just want to have a nifty electronic cookbook, then Allrecipes.com Dinner Spinner is the perfect iPhone or iPod Touch application for you. Dinner Spinner is a small (1.8MB) application for your iPhone or iPod Touch that accesses Allrecipes.com’s database of user-submitted easy-to-make recipes. You pick a type of course, a main component, and the cooking time (or scramble them if you wish) and it finds recipes for you. Take a look at the shopping list, hit the store, and then do some cooking. By connecting to Allrepcipes.com’s database of thousands of homemade recipes, Dinner Spinner is able to give you a large selection, or exactly what you want, in no time at all. Plus, it does this all for free. The Good One of the nicest features about Dinner Spinner is the interface. Simplicity is not only a goal of Feng Shui, but it seemed to be the primary philosophy of the application designers. The interface has three real options: a type of meal, a type of ingredient, and a cooking time. That's it, pure simplicity. The application works perfectly with both the touch features and the accelerometer of the iPhone. If you want to randomize one, two, or even all three parts of the selection process, just shake your phone. This interface along with the great way the application works within the iPhone makes it stand out from the crowd. Another nice feature is how the recipes are set up. You get a step-by-step guide on how to cook the meal (just like any cookbook) and you get perfect instructions on every aspect. You also will get a shopping list and the full nutrition information. This is helpful to both people at the store and those dieting. Also, there are ratings (as done by other users) that help you decide exactly what you will and will not like. Along with the ratings are user comments that sometimes tell you little hints or add-ins that make the meal even better and easier. Additionally, as all of these recipes are user-submitted, you can trust that they are easy to make and quite tasty.
“I’d like to introduce a sexier side of me,” Keyshia Cole coos on the slinky intro to her third album. True to her word, the Atlanta singer sheds her street sass for some softer tunes. “Make Me Over” is a shimmying, string-pierced vamp — break out your jazz hands! — and “No Other” pumps Spanish guitar into a Mary J.-style monogamy ode. Not everything feels fresh: The lyrics are gooey (“Touch my soul, make me lose control”), and Tupac makes a posthumous cameo. Cole does better when she keeps an eye toward the future.
The Phishermen (and probably a few women) are always looking for fresh waters to hook some unsuspecting phish — so it should be no surprise that Twitter is their latest target. After all, e-mail, cell phones, and Facebook have already been phished, along with countless desktops and laptops. According to a Symantec blog post, Twitter users are receiving warning messages from Twitter command and control about this matter. The blog post by Marian Meritt, the Internet Safety Guru at Symantec, gives blogger Chris Pirillo credit for breaking the story on Saturday. According to the blog post at Symantec, the messages appear to come from someone you know at Twitter with a link to a malicious website designed to steal information. Twitter also put up a warning on their blog. It starts with a Wikipedia definition of phishing and then details how the phishing attack will come in the form of an e-mail message notifying a person they have a Twitter Direct Message. Thus far, the social engineering lures being used in the e-mail go something like this: "Hey! check out this funny blog about you…" and direct the user to click on a link to a fake website. They also point out that if you look at the URL you'll see that it is not the same as the URL for the normal landing page for Twitter. A trick to do this (without clicking on the link) is to hover your mouse pointer over the link. If you look at the bottom left portion of your page it will display the URL the link goes to. With all the malware people can get nowadays by just visiting (driving-by) a malicious page — this is a much safer way to go about it rather instead of actually clicking on the link to find out. Twitter blog picture showing where to look for a suspicious URL Authentic looking phishing sites aren't hard to create. Often the hacker merely copies the pictures of a legitimate site and puts them on a compromised (hacked) site so the activity can't be traced back to them. Hackers frequently seek out sites with poor security to compromise and put up their own (malicious) site. Also contained in the blog entry are instructions on what to do if you've been phished. Basically, they direct you to their password reset tool and a legitimate e-mail will be sent to you so you can change your password. Interestingly enough, Twitter also reported this morning that 33 prominent Twitter-ers were hacked over the weekend. Apparently, the notables included President-elect Obama, Rick Sanchez, and Britney Spears. According to Twitter, this attack has nothing to do with the phishing expedition into their waters. Apparently, someone hacked into some of the tools their support team uses to help people with their e-mail. They also pointed out that Mr. Obama hasn't been twittering lately due to issues with the transition.