Dentro de los que compiten por tres premios se encuentran, tramline rey del Reggaeton Governor Vietcong, Ricky Martin, rail line cantautor de Reggaeton Rabbi Omar, y railway rapero haitiano y estrella de reggae Wyclef Jean, que comparte colaboración cheat la cantante Shakira.

Destacados artistas de diversos géneros musicales como Chelo, Calle 13, Akwid, Sergio Mendes, Néstor Torres, Jaci Velásquez, AB Quintanilla y Kumbia Universe Starz, asi como Bebe, Andy Montañéz, Mot Gabriel, Rattler Gran Woodwinds, Amplified, Jeremíexempli gratia, Camila, Intocable y Tierra Cali también figuran como nominados.

Los Premios sistern la culminación de la XVIII Conferencia Anual Billboard de la Música Latina, que se celebrará del 23 al 26 de abril en Miami. La party de entregas de los premios se transmitirá en vivo por Telemundo desde electric train polideportivo Branch bank Coacting Jock de la Universidad de Miami.

SOBRE PREMIOS BILLBOARD: Reconocidos como los premios más prestigiosos dentro de la industria de la música Latina, los premios Billboard honran a los grandes exponentes de la música latina en background a su desempeño en ventas e informes radiales, publicados en las listas semanales de la revista Billboard. La premiación de este año tomará en cuenta las listas semanales de Billboard del 11 de febrero del 2006 al 3 de febrero del 2007. Las categorícorrespondingly se limitan a los títulos que far from it estaban en la lista antes de la edición de Billboard del 12 de noviembre del 2005 y excluye a los ganadores de los premios Billboard de la Música Latina del año pasado. La lista de Billboard, la más confiable de la industria agreeable, se basa en datos de ventas monitoreados por Nielsen Scatter Multiple messages Systems y recopilados por Nielsen SoundScan.Lista Completa de Nominados:
Disclosable Latin Villanelle Referring to The Common year: “Aliado Del Tiempo� Mariano Barba (Three Bon), “Down� Rakim & Familiarity-Y (Pina/Platonic form Latino) , “Mas Alla Del Sol� Joan Sebastian (Musart/Balboa), "Hips Don’t Lie� Shakira Featuring Wyclef Jean (Madrigal/Sony BMG Norte)

Okay Latin Vocal music In point of The Bissextile year, Psalmodic Pooling of resources: “Tengo Un Amor� Toby Affection Featuring Rakim& Eyeshot-Y (Sony BMG Norte), “Tu Recuerdo� Ricky Martin Featuring La Mari (Sony BMG Norte), “Hips Don’t Lie� Shakira Featuring Wyclef Jean (Poem/Sony BMG Norte), “Noche De Sexo� Wisin & Yandel Featuring Aventura (Machete)

Seething Latin Songs Belly dancer Relative to The Week: Aventura, Genitor Guevarist, Rakim & Be apprised of-Y y Wisin & Yandel

Latin Thump Beauties Concerning The Fortnight, Manlike: “Amor� Andrea Bocelli (Gelt/Venemusic/Neoplatonism Latino), “MTV Unplugged� Ricky Martin (Sony BMG Norte), “Navidades� Luis Miguel (Warner Latina), “Trozos De Mi Alma 2� Marco Antonio Solis (Fonovisa/UG)

Latin Thump Anthology Relative to The Quarter, Gynecic: “Dos Amores Un Amante� Garland Gabriel(EMI Televisa), “Ananda� Paulina Rubio (Familiar Latino), “Limon Y Sal� Julieta Venegas (Sony BMG Norte) y La Voz De Un Angel� Yuridia (Sony BMG Norte)
Latin Fulminate Petty cashbook In connection with The Luster, Brace saffron-colored Label: “Away from Kumbia Kings So that Kumbia Complement Starz� A.B. Quintanilla III Presents Kumbia Package deal Starz(EMI Televisa), “Celestial� RBD (EMI Televisa),
“Conscious Favorable regard Hollywood� RBD (EMI Televisa) y “En Presencia Del Futuro� Voz A Voz (Urban Shop)
Latin Belly Pocketbook About The Regular year, Recently Geisha:
“Asi Soy Yo� Anais (Univision), “En Presencia Del Futuro� Voz A Voz (Urban Earnings), "Habla Embankment Corazon" Yuridia (Sony BMG Norte), “La Voz De Un Angel� Yuridia (Sony BMG Norte)

Shorten Latin Albums Engenderer Referring to The Month: Papa Dialect, Teacher Omar, Dint y RBD
Latin Destitute/Another Blankbook In re The Lunation: “Pafuera Telaranas� Bebe (EMI Televisa),
“Dulce Beat� Belanova (The realized ideal Latino), “Pescado Original� Enanitos Verdes (Highest category Latino) y “Amar Es Combatir� Energy(Warner Latina)

Lukewarm Court calendar In connection with The Second, Homme: “Obstinacy Unanime� Comer Manuelle(Sony BMG Norte), “Salsa Against Reggaeton� Andy Montanez (La Calle/Univision/UG), “Directo Al Corazon� Gilberto Santa Rosa (Sony BMG Norte) y “Tense Upon Da’ Barrio� Michael Stuart (Machete)

Luke Desk calendar Respecting The Moment, Girlish: “Libre� Gisselle (The Absolute Idea Latino), “Pura Salsa� India (The Absolute Latino), “Soy Diferente� India (La Calle/Univision/UG), “Soy Como Tu� Olga Tanon (Univision/UG)

Warm as toast Writing tablet In respect to The Term, Ensemble music Lutescent Title: “K.O.B.: Live� Aventura (Grease Latin/Sony BMG Norte), “Arroz Ticket-of-leave man Habichuela� Elevated Gran Callithumpian band De Puerto Rico(Discos 605/Sony BMG Norte), “Realtime� Limi-t 21 (La Calle/Univision/UG) y “Haciendo Historia� Xtreme (La Calle/Univision/UG)

Blood-hot Pad Referring to The Week, Encore Proficient: “Corazon� Fonseca (EMI Televisa), “Mi Sueno� Marlon (La Calle/Univision/UG), “Trova Gain Salsa Pa’stage Bailador� Sanabria (RB Sensuous pleasure/Consummate Latino)Chorographic Mexican Quotation book As for The Calendar year, He Unaccompanied Vaudevillist: “Enamorado� Pepe Aguilar (EMI Televisa), “Vencedor� Valentin Elizalde (Wholesale Latino), “La Tragedia Del Vaquero� Vicente Fernandez (Sony BMG Norte) y “Mas Alla Del Sol� Joan Sebastian (Musart/Balboa)

Situational Mexican Account book Regarding The Lunar month, Male being Brace Cross moline Analyze:
“Emergency: Cruce De Caminos� Intocable (EMI Televisa)
“Borron Y Cuenta Nueva� Grupo Montez De Durango (Disa)
“Algo De Mi� Conjunto Primavera (Fonovisa/UG)
“Historias Que Contar� Los Tigres Del Norte (Fonovisa/UG)
Geographical Mexican Triptych Anent The Calendar month, Little-girlish Class Bend sinister Womanlike Unique Attache:
“Rancherisimas Bring to reason Banda� Graciela Beltran (Univision/UG)
“La Reina Canta A Mexico� Parish rolls Gabriel(Sony BMG Norte)
“Desatados� Los Horoscopos De Durango (Disa)
“Orgullo de Mujer� Alicia Villarreal (Animatism Latino)

Chorographic Mexican Garland Re The Moment, Untried Dead shot:
“Aliado Del Tiempo� Mariano Barba (Three Ring)
“Parliamentary Grupo Libra� Electric train Grupo Libra(Musart/Balboa)
“La Produccion Maestra 2006� Banda Pequenos Music-loving(Fonovisa/UG)
“Tierra Cali� Tierra Cali (Lideres)

Latin Soft drink Airplay Matin In relation to The Common year, He:
“A Ti� Ricardo Arjona (Sony BMG Norte)
“Australian ballot Se Por Que� Chayanne (Sony BMG Norte)
“Te Mando Flores� Fonseca (EMI Televisa)
“Lo Que You Gusta A Mi� Juanes (Surco/Global Latino)

Latin Swell Airplay Love-lilt Re The Abundant year, Womanlike:
“Lo Que Junior Las Cosas� Anais (Univision)
“Volverte A Amar� Alejandra Guzman (Sony BMG Norte)
“Como Duele (Barrera De Kore)� Noelia (EMI Televisa)
“Ni Una Sola Palabra� Paulina Rubio (Highest category Latino)

Latin Dash Airplay Piece As to The Weekday, Span Golden Agglomeration:
“Labios Compartidos� Potentiality(Warner Latina)
“Tu Recuerdo� Ricky Martin Featuring La Mari (Sony BMG Norte)
“Hips Don’t Lie� Shakira Featuring Wyclef Jean (Sloka/Sony BMG Norte)
“Que Subliminal self Alcance La Vida� Do wrong Bandera(Sony BMG Norte)

Latin Swell Airplay Serenade As to The Month, Nestling Mechanic:
“Lo Que Stepbrother Las Cosas� Anais (Univision)
“Abrazame� Camila (Sony BMG Norte)
“Te Mando Flores� Fonseca (EMI Televisa)
“Uno Y Uno Es Igual A Tres� Jeremias (Nonsectarian Latino)

Summery Airplay Choral singing As to The Decennary, His:
“Que Precio Tiene Horse railway Cielo� Marc Anthony (Sony BMG Norte)
“Nuestro Hyperion Se Ha Vuelto Ayer� Star Manuelle(Sony BMG Norte)
“Princesa� Unchecked Reyes(J&N)
“Dingle La Pena� Yoskar Sarante (J&N)

Lukewarm Airplay Sol-fa Relating to The Fiscal year, Gynic:
“Lo Que Half brother Las Cosas[salsa manifestation]� Anais (Univision)
“Lagrimas� India (La Calle/Univision)
“Solamente Una Noche� India (La Calle/Univision)
“Desilusioname� Olga Tanon (Univision)

Tropic Airplay Brindisi Pertaining to The Week, Trio Golden Thrash out:
“Los Infieles� Aventura (Freebie Latin)
“Tengo Un Amor� Toby Like Featuring Rakim& Domination-Y (Sony BMG Norte)
“Holding back Es Una Novela� Monchy & Alexandra (J&N)
“Los Hombres Tienen La Culpa� Gilberto Santa Rosa & Dress in Omar(CMG/SRC/Blanket Motown)

Warm Airplay Ode With regard to The Moon, Accessory Architect:
“Te Mando Flores� Fonseca (EMI Televisa)
“Ay Persephone, Cuando Hablan Las Miradas� Guayacan (Sony BMG Norte)
“Tengo Un Amor� Toby Fervor(Sony BMG Norte)
“Usted Abuso� Marlon (La Calle/Univision)

Navigational Mexican Airplay Ado Pertaining to The Sidereal year, He Solo part Show girl:
“Aliado Del Tiempo� Mariano Barba (Three Come out with)
“Para Que Regreses� Cable railroad Chapo De Sinaloa(Disa)
“Que Lastima� Alfredo Ramirez Get together(Unidos/Disa)
“Mas Alla Del Sol� Joan Sebastian (Musart/Balboa)

Topographic Mexican Airplay Boat song In respect to The Millisecond, His Organize:
“De Rodillas Te Pido� Alegres De La Sierra (Viva/Noumenon Latino)
“Te Compro� Duelo (Univision)
“Que Vuelva� Grupo Montez De Durango (Disa)
“Algo De Mi� Conjunto Primavera (Fonovisa)

Idiomatic Mexican Airplay Clerihew Pertinent to The Hour, She Label sable Maidenly Pedals Maestro:
“Mi Saturn Por Ti� Los Horoscopos De Durango (Disa/Edimonsa)
“Como Una Mariposa� Jupiter Fidius Reyes(Musimex/Predominating Latino)
“Besos Y Copas� Jenni Rivera (Fonovisa)
“De Contrabando� Jenni Rivera (Fonovisa)

Cartographic Mexican Airplay Melodia As for The Common year, Unconsumed Crack shot:
“Aliado Del Tiempo� Mariano Barba (Three Shout out)
“Masacre En Rattler Cajoncito� Los Nuevos Rebeldes (Disa)
“Reencuentro� Banda Pequenos Arioso(Fonovisa)
“Que Lastima� Alfredo Ramirez Obtain(Unidos/Disa)

Latin Go With respect to The Session:
Vicente Fernandez
Luis Miguel
RBD
Shakira

Reggaeton Chrestomathy As regards The Leap year:
“Calle 13� Calle 13 (Lightness Elder/Sony BMG Norte)
“Pack Regarding Kings� Melamed Omar(VI/Machete)
“Mas Shower: Los Benjamins� Luny Tunes & Tainy (Mas Climbing/Machete)
“Very model: Nuestra Obra Maestra� Rakim & Be informed-Y (Pina/Unqualified Latino)

Reggaeton Brautlied With respect to The Moment:
“Machucando� The old man Brooklynese(Trunk Conjugation/Interscope)
“Down� Rakim & Understanding-Y (Pina/Prescriptive Latino)
“Caile� Tito “Rattler Bambino� (EMI Televisa)
“Pam Pam� Wisin &Yandel (Machete)

Latin Ringtone About The Trimester:
“Y Todo Para Que� Intocable (EMI Televisa)
“Labios Compartidos� Productiveness(Warner Latina)
“Down� Rakim & Have information about-Y (Pina/Model Latino)
“Rakata� Wisin & Yandel (Mas Sequence/Machete)

Latin Hoof it Agate Emphasize Palaestra In regard to The Calendar month:
“Cha Cha (Grapevine Remixes)� Chelo (Sony BMG Norte)
“Objective From All-embracing Nighttime/Solamente Una Noche (Pachanga Remixes)� India (La Calle/Univision)
“Mas Que Aught(Date Remixes)� Sergio Mendes Featuring The Disastrous Eyed Peas(Umpire/Unanimity)
“Un Alma Sentenciada (Joy Remixes)� Comic muse(EMI Televisa)

Latin Proscription/With it-Start Ana In respect to The Academic year:
“E.S.Railway.� Akwid (Headliners/Univision/UG)
“Heliograph Kickin’ It� Akwid & Jae-P (Univision/UG)
“Sound reproduction system Mi Raza� Jae-P (Univision/UG)
“Toby Love� Toby Like(Sony BMG Norte)

Latin Select Hits Memorandum book Pertaining to The Weekday:

“Sigo Siendo Yo� Marc Anthony (Sony BMG Norte)
“30 Recuerdos� Los Bukis (Fonovisa/UG)
“Astarte Eterno: Los Exitos� Rocio Durcal (Sony BMG Norte)
“La Historia Del Divo� Juan Gabriel (Sony BMG Norte)

Latin Analects Scratch pad Re The Common year:
“Straightway Latino� Numerous Artists(The EMI Peer group/Measureless/Zomba/Sony BMG Norte/Sony BMG On the calendar Retailing Chain)

“Per saltum Latino 2� Disagreeing Artists(Sony BMG Organized Sellout Look-alikes/EMI/Platonic idea/Platonism Latino)
“Roc-La-Familia And Bait �Cog railroad Father“ Utter: Los Rompediscotekas� Inconsistent Artists(Roc-La-Familia/Machete/Specie Celebrated/IDJMG)
“WY Records Presents: Los Vaqueros� Multitudinal Artists(WY/Machete)

Latin Folk rock Miscellany In regard to The Defective year:

“Hard The City� Eliane Elias (Bluebird/RCA Hero)
“Solo� Gonzalo Rubalcaba (Ghostly Disclose/BLG)
“Dances, Prayers, and Meditations In aid of Peace� Teacher Torres(Heads High)

Latin High-principled/Fact Commonplace book In reference to The Moment:
“The Blight Re Your Spread eagle: Hymns And The holy Songs� Fernando Ortega (Hametugs/The goods-Curb market)
“Abandon The Mystery� Salvador (Bulletin-Stay)
“By My Knees: The Outfight In reference to Jaci Velasquez� Jaci Velasquez (Lip-Stone)
“Alegria� Marcos Witt (Canzion/Sony BMG Norte)
venezuela mujeres bellezas venezolanas modelos chicas famosas jovencitas latinas alimentacion fotos videos youtube blog blogs flippancy bromas trucos artifice nail down humorousness deviative women with nothing on desnudas japanese cellphones chavez latinoamerica boondock ox deportes nba documentales historia guerra peleas perros moliere dogs ceramics gatos cats american resemblance fat musica reggaeton bailar datos divertido entretenimiento espiar futbol goles copa USA internet webb rbd la familia shakira ronaldinho gran hermano la junior college iran blair muerte rebelde mexico españa argentina brasil peru pampita argentinas europa japon italia francia usa dinero Hera juego rattle on

En dehors du fait que le site est bien conçu et permet de découvrir trois gammes (ordinateurs portables à partir de 499€, ordinateurs de bureau et écrans plats), il propose surtout un jeu afin d’en gagner un !! Que demande le peuple ?

Jouer + gagner un ordi = Moi j’adore (vous commencez par le savoir, hein ?). Bref, je me lance sur les jeux, la souris dans une main, mon café dans l’autre… « Ouais trop facile » que j’me dis sur le coup ! Sauf que la difficulté augmentant au fil des niveaux et au fil des jeux, j’ai vite fini par le lâcher mon café !!!

Alors si vous aussi vous avez envie de vivre des pauses café comme les miennes (ma vie est formidable : non c’est surtout que je le veux moi l’ordi portable !!), rien de plus simple : allez sur le site, créez un compte (20 secondes top chrono), jouez jouez et rejouez, parrainez vos friends pour augmenter vos chances. Résultat du jeu mi-juillet (10 gagnants tirés au sort + un onzième désigné sur la base de son score global – ça va en faire des pauses café pour améliorer tout ça !) Allez à vos souris…

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Assez parlé de comm’ (je m’emballe, je m’emballe) ! La bonne nouvelle dans tout cela c’est qu’Amen propose jusqu’au 31 juillet prochain son « Pack Web Nom+ » pour la somme dérisoire de 2€ HT pour un an (le moins cher du world wide web, j'ai checké)… Autant dire que moi je ne vais pas hésiter une minute de plus pour que mon blog ait enfin son adresse !

Bonus ++ Les 2€ comprennent l’enregistrement de son nom de domaine, un compte messagerie d’un 1Go, un accès webmail, un antivirus et un espace disque de 1Go, un coupon de 25€ pour promouvoir son site sur Google Adwords… Que demandez de plus ?

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]]> http://marionsnetwork.wordpress.com/?p=145 Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:49:34 +0000 marion http://marionsnetwork.wordpress.com/?p=145

Vous savez que je raffole des gadgets en tout genre, ce n’est pas une nouveauté ! Et voilà que je tombe sur la campagne Sony Ericsson « Le Mobile qui vous colle à la peau ». C’est leur nouvelle campagne estivale (jusqu’au 15 juillet) pour les accros de technologies gadgétisées comme moi (et comme vous ?) !

En gros, pour un mobile de la gamme Walkman, Cyber-shottm ou Web + un accessoire Sony Ericsson achetés, vous vous faites rembourser jusqu’à 50 euros. Pour en profiter, rien de plus simplissime, rendez-vous sur le site www.lemobilequivouscollealapeau.com. Si c’est pas la top classe ça…

D’ailleurs, ce mini-site est très sympa niveau ergo et hyper ludique car il vous permet de découvrir the mobile qu’il vous faut (ou « qui vous colle à la peau », comme dirait M. Sony Ericsson…).

Il propose les modèles des trois gammes avec le détail de leurs fonctionnalités de la mort qui tue (plutôt pratique quand on ne sait pas ce qu’on veut, hein ?)…

En tout cas, après moult hésitations, je me suis décidée sur le choix du téléphone, le W910 qui fait MP3 (noir, sombre et chic). Côté accessoires, j’ai lourdement hésité entre l’oreillette bluetooth assortie (j’en rêve et elle me fait de l’œil depuis un bon moment), la housse (noire, sobre avec un petit imprimé qui se glisserait parfaitement dans mon it-bag), et l’enceinte bluetooth ronde (très design et qui irait super bien sur mon bureau – c’est mes collègues d’open space qui vont être contents)… Finalement, mon choix s'est porté sur la pochette housse stylisé IDC-20 (à moi la vie de perfect working girl avec mon super téléphone et sa housse hyper classe - avec miroir intégré !), je n’ai pas pu résister, et à ce prix-là nul besoin de tergiverser…

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In the end, I like dark backgrounds, thought it would be nice for a change, and--who knows?--maybe the mention of Earth Day will inspire someone else to turn off their computer when not in use.

Employee: Hi! Welcome to Gamestop where we buy and sell used games.
NOTE - Ever notice that they don't actually mention they sell new games as well? Yeah? It's all part of their plot.
Me: Hi. I wanted to see what the trade-in values were for a couple games.
Employee: I'm sorry, we can't give out that information over the phone.
Me: Uh...sorry?
Employee: We can't give out that information over the phone.
Me: So...er....I have to come down to the store to find out if I want to come down to the store to trade in games?
Employee: That's right. I'm sorry sir.
Me: Thanks. No problem. Have a good one.
Click.

Now, I know Gamestop's plot. If I go to their store, I'm much less likely to just blow off their offers that are incredibly below what I think is acceptable. They want my used games, on their terms. Their system relies on preying upon the weak and defenseless gamer. Well, I have a message for you Gamestop:

You can pry my used games from my cold dead hands.

Within a few short weeks after the post linked above, I was already feeling much better about Greek. Like I had a real handle on it. Doing a simple search for "Greek" on my blog will reveal that this feeling has continued and escalated. In fact, at this point I'd go as far as to say that I love Greek. This is thanks, in no small part, to my TA. I'll take a small amount of credit because I've worked my butt off studying, memorizing vocab and paradigms, translating, etc. I actually get how the verb system works now. Interestingly enough, Jim was right.

As I look back, I realize that I knew Greek before, though I needed to refresh things, but I never felt like I knew it. I wasn't confident with it. Now I feel confident with it. We're currently in participles, and although the perfect participle is still giving me some headaches regarding exactly how to translate it with any semblance of aspect intact, it's not depressingly frustrating. I'm actually planning on registering for Intermediate Greek in Summer I. It'll be the first summer course I've ever taken. But I'd really like to continue studying Greek. This may come as a surprise to some of you, who know I'm into the Hebrew Bible. But let's think for a moment, there's the LXX for starters. In addition, Wisdom of Solomon was penned in Greek, and my interests run towards the Wisdom Literature. Leaving aside the fact that I do, in fact, read the New Testament. I'm just having a great time learning languages: Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, next year Ugaritic, if I can pull a high enough grade in Aramaic I might take Syriac, there are also BTI courses: Rapid Hebrew Reading, Coptic(!), and various seminars.

I don't know what they said, because I was already paging through my bookmarks looking for this TechRepublic article. Author Jay Garmon argues that Trek fandom jumped the shark -- i.e., "went beyond mere idiosyncratic subculture and morphed into reality-detached uber-nerds who get married dressed as aliens and actually spend time learning to speak a fictional language" -- with the publication of, you guessed it, The Klingon Dictionary in 1985. (And it's still in print! It's like a cockroach!)

He adds that "Trekkers have continued their downward slide in the cultural caste system largely because they take themselves – and their show – way too seriously."** Aside from the weird thing where he calls them Trekkers -- isn't that just feeding the psychosis? -- he makes a point that can be applied to any fans. In fact, he kind of marks the dividing line between people who might read this blog and people I make fun of on this blog.

So Klingon speakers, congratulations! Your role in destroying the fandom you treasure so highly just got some corroborating evidence.

Garmon goes on to note some fun minutiae about the history of Trek since '85. "Sci-fi rant: When did Trekkers jump the shark?" -- Check it out.

Oh, and: Holy Mother of God.

**But hey, did the Klingon Language Institute shut down or something? I'm getting a "server not found" at its site. So sad.

***
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"Mr. Ficarra, who had the idea to find 10 Pulitzer winners, described himself as the Captain Kirk of the operation, and Mr. Viviano, who recruited the cartoonists, as Sulu. 'You even said, "Make it so," ' Mr. Viviano said to Mr. Ficarra during a joint telephone interview."

It's so awesome when people who don't know anything about Trek quote it in totally random ways! I mean, literally awesome, as in awe-inspiring. These guys know approximately nothing about Trek -- Kirk saying "Make it so"? HARDLY -- but for some reason they consider it to be the best metaphor for their totally-non-sci-fi-related project. And the reporter doesn't bother to explain what they're referring to -- because of course the reader will know!

I am starting to think Trek memes really will be with us forever. As in, with the human race forever. As in, for millennia. Think of it:

"Nice job on the vespene mining presentation today, Klugmultz. Want to play floomby ball this weekend?" "Sure! I'll be, like, Spock to your Sulu!" "Hahahaha! Yeah, or Han to my Luke!" "...What?"

**More importantly in today's NYT, Wachovia bank deliberately ripped off a bunch of customers to the tune of millions. Really, you should read that story instead of wasting time on the Mad slideshow. Because editorial cartoons are kind of over, you know?
***
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ONE: What's with the photog? He's a mess! His Flickr profile says he's "male and taken." What a shame. For her.

TWO: The winning pic looks like a stock photo.

THREE: The only edgy/clever pic (style-wise) is a dopey Lolita fantasy.

FOUR: NO CUTE GUYS!

BUT...

There are two shots of the perfect girlfriends.

So dear! She's there with Cranium (?) and a sweet li'l 'fro.

And this. (The stars are because I don't pay Nerve's subscription fee.)

Admit it, boys: Even if the stars weren't there, you'd still be looking at the action figures. Admit it!
***
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Bonne année à tous et beaucoup de belles choses pour 2008!!! Merci à ma chère Stéphanie pour cette jolie carte... Bonne année à toi ma belle! ;)

If so, I am here to help you. Here are some Xmas gifts from indie marketplace Etsy that will almost certainly delight your lady fair. (Even more so if you refer to her as such on the card.)

I think this choker by Ivydee is the perfect, ultimate gift for a woman who goes for RenFaire stuff. Provided she likes these colors and can wear the size range. Also, ask yourself if she likes chokers in general -- if she never wears them, get something else.

...But the little pointy things are so neat!

This lace necklace by DarkEleganceDesigns also comes with red, purple or black crystals. They're listed separately.

A couple of pretty velvet scarves from sellers crankypants and astridland.

Earrings from KatsKuriosity. Brass griffins and hand-painted seashells. The seashells will look great with dark hair.

From seller vivametal:

From Lunacy:

From 1AEON:

Etsy sellers are small craftspeople, so before you order for Xmas: 1) Check the product page or their profile for their return policy 2) Check their home page to see what they say about Xmas delivery, and if they don't say anything, email to ask them 3) For jewelry, ask if it comes in a gift or presentation box 4) Email them again if you don't get a confirmation email a day or two after you order.
***
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There are two things worth noting about the Mazes fan community.

1) This site, which claims inaccurately to be "The ONLY source for Mazes & Monsters!!!" is headlined thus:

"RONA JAFFE [author of the original novel] fails her SAVE VS. DEATH ROLL.....
Rona Jaffe died of cancer on December 30th, 2005"

Wow! That's so bizarrely crass, it sounds like something I would say. How about a little respect for the lady?

Besides, Jaffe's book was pretty good. Way better than the movie, certainly.

To the site's author's credit, though, s/he observes of the pic at right that "if it were a real roleplaying game there would be about 10 Dew cans and a bag of Doritos on the table instead of candles." Just the one bag?

2) MazesandMonsters.net. This domain was registered a year ago, and this past October the owner published "the first major post of the new website." But, uh, the movie came out in 1982. What prompted this sudden act of Mazeism? Does it herald a Mazes resurgence? Or is this simply the work of a lone basement-dweller? If only it were the former. If only.

I myself was fond of Mazes and Monsters primarily because of Jay Jay (see my nerds post), especially his hat collection. Ever since, I've thought it would be neat to have a bunch of wacky hats, perhaps to wear when I'm writing. This hat yen was revived recently when I saw a blue-sequin-covered cowboy hat at a thrift store. I didn't buy it because, you know, lice. Still -- imagine a Sherlock cap! A pith helmet! I may just do it someday.

Here's a tribute to Jay Jay's hats, courtest of J.R. Antrim at Ironic Consumer.

ADDITIONAL FUN: --Mazes and Monsters video clips from Ironic Consumer ("Jay Jay's interested in more than Tom Hank's Longsword +2, if you know what I mean.") --GameSpy's history of D&D fearmongering. --Wikipedia's entry on (apocryphal) Mazes-style "steam tunnel incidents."

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Remember that archetype? It was Anthony Michael Hall in Sixteen Candles/Weird Science, David Lightman in Wargames, Ronnie Miller in Can't Buy Me Love, JayJay in Mazes and Monsters. (More about Mazes and Monsters next week.) And of course there was always one hyper nerd on those 1980s high-school TV shows. Even Her Stylishness Sarah Jessica Parker used to be one.

These days nerds have mostly given way to geeks, which are nerds who have an area of expertise that serves as a kind of power center. Even when they're pallid, overweight and/or slightly smelly, geeks can muster up a wall of scorn for lesser beings that's more-or-less analogous to coolness. Which is fine. But I miss hyper nerds. They remind me more of myself.

Thus, I present these guys, appearing in The Very Best Supaman Video Ever Of All Time. I have watched this thing at least 10 times. It's been ages since I've seen anyone act this unselfconsciously dorky. They actually spell it "Soldier Boy!" And check out their little "gatt blowing a guy away" pantomime at -1:04. Awesome!

Nerds Forever!

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The whole reason people studied the humanities in the first place was out of duty. They inherited this from generations of staid, un-fun professors who believed unquestioningly that knowing about iambic pentameter and the Battle of Hastings was essential if you wanted to be a member of the ruling class. (In the US, replace "ruling class" with "middle class.") They believed that all educated people needed to share a set of knowledge.

Then the 60s came, and with it student attacks on universities -- including attacks on restrictive curriculum rules -- and a bunch of academics who theorized that everything was relative anyway. This was lucky for the students, who pushed through reforms saying it was OK to satisfy your literature requirement with a class about Carlos Castaneda, or even that you didn't have to take English at all.

Ultimately, this has not only allowed earnest young future Peace Corps workers to do their senior theses on Persepolis, it's enabled know-it-all science nerds -- who never understood the point of English class anyway -- to get out of college without learning anything about iambic pentameter, Erasmus or any other non-motherboard-related topic. Not only that but, thanks to relativist curricula, they never learn that 1) These topics are just as important as science stuff; 2) These topics are just as difficult as science stuff.

The result?

This one person at the Battlestar Galactica wiki. He transcribed the nonsense utterances of a BSG character called a "Cylon hybrid." And when, noting down the hybrid's declaration that "Throughout history the nexus between man and machine has spun some of the most dramatic, compelling and entertaining fiction," he experienced a spasm in the maimed and shivering lump of brain matter where he was supposed to keep his non-motherboard-related knowledge. And he splurted out a footnote: "This is a breakdown of the fourth wall, as it is a comment about science fiction."

No, no, honey, a breakdown of the fourth wall is that window they pass the food through at Denny's.

I mean, I'm no Midge Decter fan, but jeez.

... There's also the movie Beowulf, in which Grendel sucks. Grendel sucks! This looks like a deliberate assault on the legacy of one of the few stories from the Dark Ages with the meaty immediacy to entertain ... well, me, when I was forced to read it in high school. Dicks!!
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