M Is FOR MASHUP - December 21st, 2011
Have A B00MB0X Christmas!
By DJ Useo
I hope these words find you experiencing some strongly positive Christmas vibes. If, however, things suck, keep the faith, & perservere. We're all in this life together, & you're not alone. Reach out to someone & you'll make it through. If you're lonely, the holiday times can be especially trying. The hours drag. You drink too much corn syrup. It can be a total bummer. I reckon what we all need are some finely-mixed Christmas long mixes. That's where
B00MB0X
( www.bmbx.org/ ) the long mix site comes in. The dj's there, like Bong, Swampmaster, Vepik, & Warvadal always put an extra effort out in December to give you mixes that carry inspiring yuletide spirit. Let's take a quick look at this years blessings.
01 - DJ Riko - Merry Mixmas 2011 - The Merriest Mixmas - This is the 10th annual 'Merry MixMas' set from DJ Riko, & it feaures some of the best bootleg bits from some past shows along with wonderful new parts. It's beautiful, it's nostalgic, it's modern & it's DJ Riko. Need I say more? Tracks included from Jim Nabors, Dread Zeppelin, & Soulwax.
( www.bmbx.org/2011/12/merry-mixmas-2011-the-merriest-mixmas/ )
02 - Lenodd -The 12 Days Selector - Lenodd gives us a splendid Christmas mix with a strongly similar set of funk, hip hop, nostalgia & more. It's amazing how geniuses think alike. I don't believe Riko & Lenodd have ever met, let alone consulted on mixes. Lol. The main thing they appear to have in common is vast experience & ability at deejaying. Set includes James Brown, Yellowman, & Johnny Cash.
( www.bmbx.org/2011/12/the-12-days-selector/ )
03 - Bong - In Santa We Trust - Bong's Christmas mix sets off into the wild blue yonder of Christmas material, while maintain finestkind likeability. If tracks by lesser-known but great artists like The Electric Prunes, The Five Keys, & The Four Aces appeal to you, look
here
( www.bmbx.org/2011/12/in-santa-we-trust/ ) .
04 - S*A*T- It's A Studio1-derful Life - S*A*T delivers one amazing deejay-driven beats mix despite having artists like Bing Crosby, Loius Armstrong & Elvis in it. All is remixed by the best & S*A*T brings it all together. Is Christmas music supposed to be this cool? Decide for yourself
here
( www.bmbx.org/2011/12/its-a-studio1-derful-life/ )
05 - Hidden Persuaders - Is That Your Vinyl Prancer? - Hidden Persuaders brings you a perfect Christmas comfort mix. It touches on a few styles like bootleg, Christmas standard, rock & remix & brings them all together with refined skill. Listen for Saint Etienne, Foghat, The Eels & more
here
( www.bmbx.org/2010/12/is-that-your-vinyl-prancer/ )
06 - Der DiskothekerTM - A Child Was Born - DDTM Dies one awesome Christmas mix. This is for everyone, but especially for those who don't think they'd like Christmas music. I believe this would warm the heart of the toughest Grinch. Here's what S*A*T says "Awesome mix… so dense… kinda begins like a KLF chill out xmas special… then it goes elsewhere… love the trk at about 20 mins (?)… such a long list, can't work it out. Some great finds here also & a cool ending This will definitely be spinning again en route to the big day. cheers again Mr Disco. An excellent xmas soundtrk… I need to listen again. J " Listen for artists like R2D2, Dave Brubeck & Johnny Winter
here
( www.bmbx.org/2010/12/a-child-was-born-2/ )
07 - Vepik- FROSTBI2E - Vepik mixes such a fine Christmas mix one wonders how much north pole elf is in his family lineage? Lol! His new Christmas trance set really encapsulates the spirit of the season, while adhering to the most modern sound. You will hear Sonic Element, Orbital & Hybrid among many more. String some popcorn, pour some nog & listen
here
( www.bmbx.org/2011/12/frostbi2e/ )
Amaze your friends & family & share this article with them for Christmas. Yule be glad you did!
Christmas Podcast Of The Week
Me, DJ Useo, & me wife, DJ Petrushka, host our gift to everyone this Christmas, a great hosted podcast featuring all mashups from members of the Sound-Unsound Mashup forum. Listen for family-friendly Christmas mashups from some of the best bootleggers out there. You'll hear mashups from mARKYbOY, Chocomang,...And Sushi! Productions, and the rest of the gang. Included is the world's great Christmas mashup ever! -Qubic's 'Oíche Suaimhneach, Fir Caoin' (Mediaeval Baebes vs Loreena McKennitt). Also in the show is an unreleased mashup from me called 'Let It Snow Rising' (Frank Sinatra vs Purple Code vs Cubrik) & the unlisted capper is me & Petrushka hosting the 2011 Christmas mashup parade! Listen
here
( groovytimewithdjuseo.blogspot.com/2011/12/sound-unsound-christmas-podcast.html )
Mashup Tip : Add a little bacon grease to your mixing program to ensure extra flavor.
Latest Useo Christmas Thing
I couldn't resist, so I entered another GET YOUR BOOTLEG ON mashup challenge. Last weeks winner OKI chose an appropriate Christmas theme, so I mixed up a Christmas mashup entry. It's called 'Happy Chinese Rock Xmas' & is John Lennon's perennial Christmas fave singing over the roaring punk gee-tars of Johnny Thunder & The Heartbreakers. Listen & see if you think I have a chance of winning. Personal word of mouth is the mix is great. ;)
( groovytimewithdjuseo.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-punk-song-lennon-vs-johnny.html )
Podgornio, The Mashup Psychic Predicts
Santa will look favourably on all who give the gift of mashups, & leave them all some HOT WHEELS cars from the 1970's.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
C.K. Louis: Everything's Amazing & Nobody's Happy (YouTube)
Louis CK and the future of standup comedy (Guardian)
The comedian has made more than half a million dollars marketing his video online directly to fans rather than releasing it on DVD.
Andy Beckett: The news is terrible. Is the world really doomed? (Guardian)
The economy's bust, the climate's on the brink and even the arts are full of gloom. Has there ever been an era so bleak?
David Bruce: Wise Up! Christmas (Athens News)
During breaks in the filming of "The Wizard of Oz," Judy Garland used to talk to the little people who played the Munchkins. Meinhardt Raabe remembers, "Judy was just great to us. A very pleasant young girl." For a Christmas present, Judy bought a huge box of candy and invited the little people to dig in. Margaret Pellegrini remembers, "It must have been a 25- or 30-pound box of chocolates. It was enormous. That was her Christmas present to us." Judy also brought out a stack of photographs from her dressing room and signed them for any little person who wanted one.
Hadley Freeman: Can I dress as Sexy Santa and retain my dignity? (Guardian)
No - and why would looking like a 'Playboy' Miss December reject add to the festive spirit?
Peter Bradshaw: Forget Santa. Robinson Crusoe on Mars is my Christmas hero (Guardian)
As a child I wasn't allowed much Christmas viewing. But an enthralling sci-fi classic slipped the net.
Mike Cooney: 6 Bummer Epilogues For Movies Based On True Stories (Cracked)
… some of the most notable "true life" movies are relatively factual. Unfortunately, however, these amazing stories often have terrible aftermaths that even Hollywood wouldn't dare to film.
Eva Wiseman: "This much I know: Miranda July" (Guardian)
The performance artist, 37, on directing sex, ageing and excellence.
Meet the Agta, a tribe where a quarter of men have been attacked by giant snakes
When Thomas Headland first met the world's longest snake, he was on the way to the toilet.
NAOHIRO YOSHIDA: Okinawan man has based his career on translating love letters (from 2006)
Almost half a century has passed since he started his translation business in 1957. In that time, he's had countless love letters brought to him.
David Bruce has 42 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $42 you can buy 10,500 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," "Maximum Cool," and "Resist Psychic Death."
wrote:
answered:
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Kinda sunny afternoon.
Faking Wildlife Scenes Not Uncommon
BBC Documentaries
Last week, BBC's Frozen Planet, narrated by famed zoologist David Attenborough, came under fire when it was revealed that a scene of a polar bear and her two newborn cubs was staged in a zoo. In the following days the Daily Mail reported other scenes that were not filmed with the animals in their natural environment, including one of a caterpillar crawling around in a wintry scene that really took place in a box.
More recently, The Sunday Telegraph conducted an investigation and found several more faked scenes in various BBC productions.
The Telegraph reports that by not including notice of faked scenes in the actual footage or the credits, BBC could be going against its own policy.
The Telegraph goes on to note that BBC's transparency policy states: "Audiences should never be deceived or misled by what they see or hear."
BBC has maintained that details of certain footage, including the polar bear scene on Frozen Planet, are disclosed on its website. The Mirror also reported Attenborough as defending the staged scene by comparing BBC documentaries to movies.
BBC Documentaries
Oscar Sells For $861K
Orson Welles
The Academy Award statuette that Orson Welles won for the original screenplay of "Citizen Kane" was auctioned for more than $861,000 Tuesday in Los Angeles.
Nate D. Sanders Auctions spokesman Sam Heller said bidders from around the world, including David Copperfield, vied for the Oscar.
The 1942 Oscar was thought to be lost for decades. It surfaced in 1994 when cinematographer Gary Graver tried to sell it. The sale was stopped by Beatrice Welles, Orson's youngest daughter and sole heir.
Copperfield, who was outbid in the auction, said he admires Welles not only for his cinematic successes, but because he, too, was a magician. Welles hosted Copperfield's first television special.
Orson Welles
Tops IMDb's Most-Viewed List
Natalie Portman
"Black Swan" actresses Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis have danced past Johnny Depp on IMDb's annual list of most-viewed actors.
The movie website released the list, which is based on the number of views received by actors' profile pages, on Tuesday.
"Pirates of the Caribbean" star, who is now No. 3, had held the No. 1 perch for six of the past seven years.
"The Help" actress Emma Stone is No. 4.
George Clooney, who has received Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for his starring role in "The Descendants," is at No. 8.
Natalie Portman
Surfing Oopsie
Gerard Butler
Gerard Butler is OK after being rescued from a treacherous California surf break known for stories-high waves.
The 42-year-old star of "Of Men and Mavericks" was held underwater Sunday afternoon when a set of waves rolled in. He was washed through some rocks while tethered to his surfboard. A safety patrolman on a Jet Ski swooped in and picked him up.
Competitive surfer Zach Wormhoudt told The San Mateo County Times newspaper that the actor was shaken up but not seriously injured. Butler was taken by ambulance to a hospital for examination and later released.
Wormhoudt said Butler had not surfed much before the movie but had made an effort to improve his skills for the film.
Gerard Butler
Axes 3 Series
HBO
HBO is renewing its Golden Globes-nominated freshman series "Enlightened," but is axing three other series.
"Hung" and "Bored to Death" will not return for a fourth season, nor will "How to Make it in America" be back for a third cycle, the network said Tuesday.
"Enlightened," which ended its first season earlier this month, last week earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Comedy or Musical Series, as well as a nomination for its star, Laura Dern. On the show, Dern plays an unstable career woman who wants to be a social activist.
HBO will premiere six new series in 2012. They include "Luck," an untitled drama series created by Aaron Sorkin, "Veep," ''Girls," ''Life's Too Short" and "Angry Boys," which debuts on New Year's Day.
HBO
Tops YouTube In '11
Rebecca Black
Rebecca Black's infamous "Friday" video has topped all other YouTube videos of 2011 with 180 million views.
The Google Inc. video-sharing site announced its most-viewed clips of the year Tuesday.
The 14-year-old Black was turned into a viral video celebrity after her parents paid a production company to make the music video for her. "Friday" became an unlikely, off-key global hit. Because of a legal dispute with Ark Music Factory, the video has had two YouTube incarnations, both of which were tabulated in the year-end count.
The second most popular video was "Ultimate Dog Tease," in which an owner taunts a dog with food and voices its reactions. Third was the "Saturday Night Live" digital short featuring Michael Bolton as a rabid "Pirates of the Caribbean" fan.
Rebecca Black
Hacking Testimony
Piers Morgan
A tense and sometimes hostile Piers Morgan refused to disclose details Tuesday about the most damning link between himself and Britain's phone hacking scandal - his acknowledgment that he once listened to a phone message left by Paul McCartney for his then-wife Heather Mills.
The CNN celebrity interviewer, testifying through a video link from the U.S., clashed repeatedly with the UK panel investigating media ethics, insisting he never took part in the illegal phone hacking that has led to the closure of a Sunday tabloid he once edited and the arrests of friends and former colleagues.
The stakes were high for Morgan. More than a dozen journalists have been arrested, senior executives with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. media empire have lost their jobs, and top U.K. police officers have resigned over their failure to tackle the phone hacking scandal.
Morgan's defense Tuesday was part denial, part apology and a healthy helping of "I don't recall."
Piers Morgan
Eddie's Ex Bilked
Nicole Murphy
A self-described Los Angeles entertainment entrepreneur was charged in a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday with bilking $7 million from a recent divorcee who is identified by law enforcement officials as the ex-wife of actor-comedian Eddie Murphy.
Troy David Stratos faces 14 charges of fraud, money laundering and obstructing justice. Stratos, 45, was arrested Tuesday and made his first appearance in Los Angeles federal court. His attorney, Walter Urban, did not return a telephone message.
The divorcee is identified in court papers as "N.M...the ex-wife of E.M." who filed for divorce in August 2005. Three law enforcement sources told The Associated Press that the victim is Eddie Murphy's ex-wife, Nicole Murphy, but the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the identity of the alleged victim in the case.
The indictment charges that Stratos persuaded his victim to invest the proceeds of her divorce overseas, promising that she would earn a high rate of return. She put the proceeds into a revocable trust with Stratos in Fair Oaks, a Sacramento suburb, according to the federal indictment.
Prosecutors say Stratos never invested the money, but spent it on himself. He also opened a bank account in Florida, they say, and used portions of the money to pay the victim's expenses while leading her to believe he was paying her expenses out of his own pocket.
Nicole Murphy
Adultery Site Backs
Noot
Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich trumpeted the endorsement of an influential archconservative leader on Tuesday, but he also scored the backing of a pro-adultery website.
The site -- www.ashleymadison.com, which dubs itself "the most recognized name in infidelity" -- announced its support for the thrice-married former House speaker on a billboard.
A picture of the sign, which was installed in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, shows Gingrich with his finger over his mouth and declares him: "Faithful Republican...Unfaithful Husband."
"This is clearly the opportunity for a politician to run for the highest office in the land when we all know about his 'checkered past,'" the site's founder, Noel Biderman, told AFP by telephone.
Noot
Journals Mull Publishing Virus Details
Killer Flu
Two top scientific journals said Tuesday they were mulling whether to publish details of a man-made mutant killer flu virus that has sparked concerns of mass deaths if it were released.
A US government's science advisory committee urged the US journal Science and the British journal Nature to withhold key details so that people seeking to harm the public would not be able to manufacture the virus that could cause millions of deaths.
The virus in question is an H5N1 bird flu strain that was genetically altered in a Dutch lab so it can pass easily between ferrets.
That means it is likely contagious among humans for the first time, and could trigger a lethal pandemic if it emerged in nature or were set loose by terrorists, experts have said.
The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity reviewed two scientific papers relating to the findings and recommended that the journals "make changes in the manuscripts," a statement said, warning of an "extremely serious global public health threat."
Killer Flu
Court Deal Reached
Etta James
The husband and sons of terminally ill "At Last" and "Tell Mama" blues singer Etta James have reached a deal on managing her $1 million estate and medical care.
Her adult sons Donto and Sametto had challenged the decisions of their stepfather Artis Mills, who married the singer in 1969 and is the estate's conservator.
Donto James asked a Riverside County judge to appoint him temporary conservator. But The Riverside Press-Enterprise says Monday's agreement keeps Mills in place as conservator.
At issue was the amount of money available to Mills for the expenses and care of the singer. He wanted $500,000, while the sons wanted it capped at $100,000.
The judge set it at $350,000.
Etta James
Myanmar Burmese SatiristZarganar
He kept his quick wit throughout jail terms, torture and solitary confinement, but it seems nothing quite prepared Myanmar's most famous comedian for his first trip out of the military-dominated state.
"When I saw the airplane I got a shock, when I saw the airport I got a shock, when I saw the big building and big bridge and good road I got a shock," he told a packed audience that turned out to hear him in Bangkok.
But it is the faces of young people in neighbouring Thailand -- expressing "freedom" and "self-confidence" -- that have really stunned the 50-year-old Zarganar.
"Our young people in my country, daily they worry... Their faces are full of anxieties," he told the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand late Monday. "We are neighbouring countries, but quite different."
Renowned for his humour in the face of repression and held in jail four times by Myanmar's ruling generals, the poet, performer and filmmaker was released from his latest prison term in October and has since finally been granted a passport.
Zarganar
Growing Skin
German Scientists
No, this is not an ill-conceived sequel to an Ira Levin novel. Scientists at a laboratory in Germany have begun growing human skin from the cells of infant foreskins.
According to the German Herald, the "medical breakthrough" is being used to test cosmetics and other consumer products and could someday replace all animal testing. The so-called Skin Factory, at the Fraunhofer Institute in Stuttgart, takes foreskin cells donated to the project and uses them to grow the skin, according to spokesman Andreas Traube.
Scientists extract a single layer of cells from each foreskin and then grow on layers of collagen and connective tissue in the Skin Factory, a sealed growing environment just seven meters, by thee meters, and three meters high and kept at a constant temperature of 37 degrees centigrade.
Once the cells are multiplied inside the machine, researchers then inject them into a gel that causes them to grow into a sheet that simulates the epidermis. The layers are then fused together, creating a replica of natural human skin.
Traube said the foreskin is taken from children aged 1-4, because the younger tissue has better research applications. "The older the skin is, the worse it performs," he said. According to the report, the cells taken from a single foreskin can produce test skin samples in six weeks. The success of the research has led the Skin Factory to consider expanding its efforts to commercial projects.
German Scientists
Origin Of Rocks Discovered
Stonehenge
Researchers in the United Kingdom have finally solved a major piece of Stonehenge's enduring mystery: the place of origin for some of the ancient structure's most-famous rock formations.
The National Museum Wales and Leicester University have identified the source as Craig Rhos-y-felin, located more than 100 miles from the Stonehenge site. But this discovery, of course, just opens on to another mystery--namely, just how and why an ancient culture carved and transported the giant stones over such a great distance.
This past year has offered a wealth of new research and discoveries at the Stonehenge site, including last month's announcement that the worshipers at the ancient monument had erected "sun worship" sites there.
Over the past nine months, the researchers compared mineral content and textural relationships of the rhyolite debitage stones found at Stonehenge and were finally able to pinpoint the location to within several meters of their source. Ninety-nine percent of the samples could be matched to the rocks found at Craig Rhos-y-felin, which differ from all others found in south Wales.
Stonehenge
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Dec. 12-18. Listings include the week's ranking and viewership.
1. "NCIS," CBS, 19.13 million.
2. "60 Minutes," CBS, 18.47 million.
3. NFL Football: Baltimore at San Diego, NBC, 16.58 million.
4. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 16.4 million.
5. "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 14.88 million.
6. "The Mentalist," CBS, 13.16 million.
7. "Survivor: South Pacific Finale," CBS, 13.07 million.
8. "Person of Interest," CBS, 12.93 million.
9. "Criminal Minds," CBS, 12.88 million.
10. "Mike & Molly," CBS, 12.77 million.
11. "2 Broke Girls" (Monday, 8 p.m.), CBS, 12.5 million.
12. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 12.23 million.
13. "Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick," NBC, 11.87 million.
14. "Unforgettable," CBS, 11.3 million.
15. "Hawaii Five-0," CBS, 11.17 million.
16. "Survivor: South Pacific," CBS, 10.87 million.
17. "The X-Factor" (Wednesday), Fox, 10.79 million.
18. "2 Broke Girls," CBS, 10.18 million.
19. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 10.17 million.
20. "Survivor: South Pacific Reunion," CBS, 9.92 million
Ratings
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