- I want to break up, but it’s for everyone’s good. That’s
the current argument being used by Scottish First Minister
Alex Salmond to make the case for his country’s independence from the United
Kingdom. A referendum on the issue will be held later this year and Salmond is
making the case that independent Scotland with a strong economy would benefit
the whole of the U.K. "There's a growing realization that wealth and opportunities are
too concentrated, geographically and socially. UK government policies are working
for too few, and denying opportunities to too many. Britain is imbalanced,”
Salmond said. The minister made those
remarks during a meeting in London. He said an independent Scotland
would help "rebalance the economic centre of gravity" across the U.K.,
but Scotland Office minister David Mundell quickly dismissed the notion. Voters
have more than six months to go before the Sept. 18 vote, when they will face a
simple yes or no question that isn’t simple at all : "Should Scotland be
an independent country?" As Salmond’s theory goes, Scottish independence
would benefit England, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales by redistributing
wealth across the British Isles. As part of his remarks, Salmond also lit up Chancellor
George Osborne for suggesting Scotland would be a "foreign" country
if voters backed independence. "Scotland will not be a foreign country
after independence, any more than Ireland, Northern Ireland, England or Wales
could ever be foreign countries to Scotland,” Salmond added. He noted the countries’
shared ties of kinship, trade, commerce, history and culture and said such ties
“have never depended on a parliament here at Westminster.” British Prime
Minister David Cameron previously called on people elsewhere in the U.K. to
urge Scots to vote against independence and most experts believe the vote is
too close to call at this point. Still, come September it could be 1776 for
England all over again……..
- The real surprise would have been if a member of Foo
Fighters were recording a new album with his side project and Dave Grohl DIDN’T
participate. Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins is set to release
his debut album with his second band, The Birds Of Satan, in April. The Birds
of Satan are Hawkins, Wiley Hodgden and Mick Murphy and one track on their
first release will feature vocals from Grohl. Hawkins will be a busy man across
the entire release, as he will provide both drums and vocals throughout and
will also add a decidedly badass rock and roll touch by playing piano as well. As
with any new band that has strong connections in the rock world among its
members, The Birds of Satan will bring in plenty of guest contributors beyond
Grohl. Legendary Foo Fighters and Nirvana
guitarist Pat Smear will also appear on the project, as will Drew Hester and
keyboard player Rami Jaffee. Getting all of these contributors together was a
more impressive feat considering the fact that the entire project was recorded
in less than a week. John Lousteau produced the album, which The Birds of Satan
have released a trailer for online. Foo Fighters fans who want to add another
album with Grohl lending a helping hand to one of his many musical friend will
be able to pick up this possibly good, possibly terrible release on April 14.
Of course, by then Grohl will undoubtedly have linked up with a half-dozen
other artists on whose albums he can sing, drum, play guitar, play the
tambourine, play the triangle, produce or do interpretive dance……….
- This had damn well better happen and it had better happen
soon. Chicago – at last check, anyhow – is not located in one of the two states
in America where marijuana is legal for all adults to possess in small
quantities and smoke. Yet unless something changes in between now and May, ads
for ganja will air on the Windy City’s largest cable provider. The 60-second
spot is a promo for marijuanadoctors.com, where consumers/stoners can find
physicians willing to fabricate, er, review a patient’s records to see if they
qualify for medicinal marijuana. If a prospective client qualifies, these
Internet-loving docs will write them a recommendation for medicinal marijuana. “Patients
that are coming to this practice are ones that have qualifying conditions that
once it becomes legal to do so in Illinois, then they’ll be able to get a
recommendation,” said Dr. Bodo Schneider, one of the “physicians” associated
with the site. Jason Draizin, the CEO of marijuanadoctors.com, explained that
doctors (real or fake) such as Schneider are necessary in the process of
getting put in the hands of potheads needing their fix/pain relieved. “A lot of
people are not comfortable talking to their primary physician. A lot of their
primary care physicians don’t want to recommend the drug to them,” Draizin said.
The one hurdle for marijuanadoctors.com is that Illinois state laws do not
allow clinics to operate for the sole purpose of writing marijuana
recommendations. That means the company will need to perhaps sell Fritos or Pop
Tarts in order to make themselves legitimate. The Illinois Department of Financial
and Professional Regulations is currently investigating the site to ensure no
laws are bring broken, but if the site is above board, then ads with ganja
enthusiasts lounging on their couches, plowing through a stack of “Planet Earth”
DVD’s and doing bong rips aren't far away……..
- Have you heard – or heard of – the Aether Cone? If not, keep your ears open.
The curiously named and phonetically interesting contraption is aimed at
simplifying the process of listening to music, according to the devices
creators at San Fransisco start-up Aether Things. The Cone resembles the inner
cone of a stereo speaker and syncs up with any device running iOS7 or Mac OS X
10.9 Mavericks. As for simplifying what should be one of the simplest processes
known to man, it works by playing music from one of several streaming services
such as Pandora and Spotify. The Aether Cone contains a 3-inch woofer and a
dual tweeter set-up run by a 20 watt amplifier, boosting sound quality. Still,
its distinguishing feature is how it presents the songs it plays. It features
only one button and zero LEDs or LCD screens. Users can operate it by pressing
the single button in the center of the speaker grill or spinning the outside
edge. Pressing the button begins playback from the streaming service of choice,
but if Pandora or Spotify plays a crappy song, the users can simply spin the
outer edge to change genres or input sources. The cone also has a smart learning
system it employs to build a better playlist every time it is used. As songs
play, the device tracks songs that are listened to from start to finish and
which one are skipped. It builds its knowledge so that with further use comes
an advanced ability to play songs the user likes. Thanks to its accelerometer
and a clock, it can adapt if it is moved from room to room and learn what kind
of music is preferred at different times of day or night. For a more hands-on
experience, users will be able to hold down the center button and speak an
artist or track name to hear it right away. All of this is powered by an 8-hour
lithium-ion battery for free roaming playback wherever there is a Wi-Fi
connection. The one drawback at this point is the limited number of color
choices. The Cone comes in only a black and brushed copper color scheme, but
there are plans to have a white and silver option available for its launch
later this year……….
- Professional sports are a business, period. As much as
fans would like to believe otherwise, the bottom line is the bottom line and
players and coaches are showing up to get paid above all else. In that world,
players move on from teams when teams decide that player isn't worth what he’s
asking and fan favorites put on new uniforms after playing for one team for a
decade. Loyalty is a disappearing commodity and former Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler knows it. Kinsler spent
X seasons playing for the Rangers, but he was traded to Detroit this offseason
and from the sound of it, he didn’t leave any of his heart in Texas. "I
hope they go 0-162," Kinsler said of his former team. "I got friends,
and I love my friends, but I hope they lose their ass." Losing one’s ass
is a serious fate, so you know Kinsler is serious. Most of his anger seems to
be directed at one man: Rangers general manager Jon Daniels. Among other
things, Kinsler called Daniels a “sleazeball” and blamed Daniels’ egomaniacal
ways for pushing former team president and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan out the
door. Daniels did the only thing an executive in his position can do, namely
refuse comment on the subject. "It's not worth defending," Daniels
said. "I'm really proud of the group we've got here, the decisions we've
made, the people we have in place and what we're building. Based on how he
feels, the trade is probably a good thing for all parties involved.” Based on
those comments and Kinsler’s, there is clearly more to the story, but neither
side is going to expound on it at this point. Rangers manager Ron Washington
dismissed Kinsler's comments and said they would not be bulletin board material
for his team. "We won't go 0-162," he said. "Guaranteed."
Who’s excited for the Tigers’ first trip to Texas……….
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