FREE MP3 Download – ‘Come On’ by Green River Ordinance

So, are you in the mood for some pop-rock? For a limited time, you can download ‘Come On’ by the Texas-based Green River Ordinance (GRO) for FREE. The track is from the album “Out of My Hands” .

You can download it from Amazon or the band’s website for free. You’ll have to give your e-mail address and answer some questions if you choose to download from the band’s website.

‘Come On’ sounds like it would be great for a tie-in with one of those TV shows for a big dramatic scene, like other bands have been doing. It’s a mid-to-up- tempo pop-rock that you’ll probably like if you’re into the Nickelback/Daughtry sound. Maybe even David Cook.

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Finally Bought Noise Canceling Headphones (@ 75% OFF!)

So, I’d been putting the Bose Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones on my wish list year in and year out, but somehow, no one ever wanted to shell out $ 500 to get it for me… I have a real fear that I’ll eventually blow my eardrums out from amping up the volume on my iPod, so, I finally decided to buy one myself… but unfortunately, I’m broke as hell, so I knew that Bose was completely off my bank account’s price range.

Well, whataya know, Amazon goes and offers the Skullcandy Proletariat Noise Canceling Headphones at 75% off ($24.99 instead of the original price of $99.95). I looked it over, and the reviews weren’t too bad, and dude – $24.99!!! That’s like, I don’t know, a T-shirt or something. I bit.

So, what do I think after using it? Well, it does what it’s supposed to do – it cancels noise out. I’m not sure about the physics of it … but this is how Amazon describes it:

Noise canceling technology works by electronically producing sound waves opposite to the ambient sound outside your headphones. Canceling noise allows you to hear your music at lower volumes. NC headphones are ideal for use in noisy offices and during travel.

Number one, I’m happy with the noise cancelling feature since I’m now able to freakin’ put the volume down to a level my GP is happy with. And just a note, it’s not like you’ll be sensory deprived when you put it on, if you turn the music off, you will hear muffled ambient sounds. Music on, it’s just the music you’ll hear.

Number two, it’s very portable. It weighs next to nothing and folds down nicely and I have no problem bringing it with me when I go out. Fits in nicely inside my bag.

Number three, the fit is not that bad. It’s not uncomfortable; I wore it for a couple of hours, and my ears/head aren’t deformed at any rate.

Number four, there is no way the sound quality measures up to Bose. I know, since I’ve pretty much stalked the Bose shop and know the difference. Skullcandy doesn’t handle bass well, but then, neither does the iPod earbuds that come with it. So, if the iPod earbuds never bothered you in terms of sound quality, this one won’t either. People gifted with better eardrums may find it wanting though.

So, if you’re an el-cheapo like me, check this out. Skullcandy SC-NC Proletariat Noise Canceling Headphones is currently on sale at Amazon for $24.99 ($74.96 savings), but note that this 75% discount will only last until Nov 30, 2009.

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FREE Game for iPhone or iPod Touch – Sheeple

For a limited time, the iPhone and iPod Touch game ‘Sheeple’ is available FREE for download from the App Shopper or the iTunes app store.

Game Description:

Sheeple is a fun, addicting, and challenging game where you help guide the Sheeple through 80 fun and challenging levels (next update already submitted and increases levels to 100)! You will have to use both your quick mind and reflexes to help guide the Sheeple.

Sheeple (“Sheep People”): People unable to think for themselves.

You are the Overseer of the Sheeple and it is your responsibility to help guide the Sheeple out of their various predicaments. You will have many interesting tools at your disposal to help guide the Sheeple through various challenging situations that they would otherwise be hopelessly stuck in forever.

Features:
★ 80 fun and challenging levels (100 in the next version already submitted)
★ Achievements (using OpenFeint 2.2)
★ Leaderboards
★ Fun and challenging scoring system
★ Automatically saves your progress at the end of each level
★ Ability to go back and play any level that you have previously completed
★ Manage multiple Sheeple and exits simultaneously
★ Integrated tutorial and help system
★ Listen to your iPod music and select tracks from within the game (feature requires OS 3.0)
★ Updates will always be FREE

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Adam Lambert and Kris Allen are on the Cover of Billboard Magazine!

Whoa, did Christmas come early or something? Kradam is on the cover of Billboard Magazine!

And it comes with two really good on-line articles on Adam and Kris that’s pretty much a fountain of information… Read : Adam Lambert: The Billboard Cover Story & Video and Kris Allen: The Billboard Cover Q&A

The Scoop :

• Adam will be on “Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve With Ryan Seacrest”
• Adam has the show-closing (aka pimp-spot) performance at the American Music Awards
• Adam will be interviewed as one of the “Most Fascinating People” of 2009

And here’s bonus video of Adam from the Billboard site! AFTER THE JUMP

Book Review – ‘Let the Right One In: A Novel’ by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Book Synopsis:

Oskar and Eli. In very different ways, they were both victims. Which is why, against the odds, they became friends. And how they came to depend on one another, for life itself. Oskar is a 12-year-old boy living with his mother on a dreary housing estate at the city’s edge. He dreams about his absentee father, gets bullied at school, and wets himself when he’s frightened. Eli is the young girl who moves in next door. She doesn’t go to school and never leaves the flat by day. She is a 200-year-old vampire, forever frozen in childhood, and condemned to live on a diet of fresh blood. John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel, a huge bestseller in his native Sweden, is a unique and brilliant fusion of social novel and vampire legend; and a deeply moving fable about rejection, friendship and loyalty.

I’m not sure why this novel didn’t cross my radar before now. I’ve heard of the movie of course, but didn’t actually get to see it. Anyway, a friend of mine got fed up with me complaining about the state of vampires in today’s literary world – honestly, who really wants virgin vegetarian vampires who glitter in sunlight instead of combusting like a good vampire should? or who would honestly believe that any vampire (let alone, an adult) would willingly relieve high school again and again and again? And seriously, there is no way someone who has lived hundreds of years (and presumably has met more real women) can fall in love with a ninny-head doormat of a teen-age girl… (well, okay, if he has been in and out of High School only, I guess that’s understandable? But isn’t that a kind of torture in a way???) Okay, getting waaay off tangent here!

So, anyway, a friend of mine recommended that I read ‘Let the Right One In: A Novel‘ by John Ajvide Lindqvist, and I gotta say, I owe said friend a prize. I can honestly say that this novel is one of the best things I’ve read in a long, long time. It makes me want to learn Swedish just so I can read the book in its original form, instead of a translation. Okay, just to make things clear – this is a horror novel – and it covers such issues that may make it unpalatable to many, many people. If the words pedophilia, alcoholism, prostitution, drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, murder, bullying make you react with horror and are guaranteed to give you sleepless nights and cause you psychological trauma, don’t even bother thinking about picking this book up. Okay? Don’t.Even.Think.About.It.

The synopsis above makes you think that the novel is just about Oskar and Eli, and I believe that from what I’ve been told, the movie does just concentrate on Oskar and Eli’s story. But the novel includes a wider circle of characters around them that includes a dying and decaying suburban community, peopled by sad, hopeless, deadbeat characters, many of whom are victims, none of whom are even the slightest bit sympathetic at the start of the novel. In fact, many of the characters are pretty vile. How exactly can you sympathize with a group of alcoholics, a young juvenile delinquent, a pedophile wrecked by guilt, a social outcast beaten down by bullying, and an inhuman vampire monster? But such is the skill of John Ajvide Lindqvist that you do end up getting inside their heads and yes, empathizing with everyone.

As I cautioned earlier, this book isn’t for squeamish people – it’s very dark, not ‘happy’ at all, and the descriptions are pretty graphic – which you would expect from a novel about a real vampire who has to feed off people to survive. And where a character turns into a zombie-like figure and goes on a sort-of-slow-mo-rampage. But it’s more than that – in many ways – the novel shows how human beings can be just as cruel to one another or to oneself. Whether it’s through a defenseless boy who endures violent bullying. Or a woman in love who has to endure the unthinking neglect of her lover. Or a group of quasi-friends who see no future and therefore take comfort in perpetual alcoholic stupor. Or a pedophile who struggles against his nature… (but eventually gives in) The horrors in this novel aren’t just the paranormal kind. And the monsters aren’t always human.

But going back to Eli and Oskar – they are the heart of the story afterall- and tie all the disparate characters together. And more importantly, these two children provide a kind of redemptive arc to the whole novel. The friendship they strike up is developed slowly by Lindqvist, and you can see how they eventually fall in love – in a pure first-love kind of way. There is one scene in particular wherein Oskar gets to see himself through Eli’s eyes – and he sees what he can be when seen through the eyes of love. That sounds too mushy for words, but you have to read it in Lindqvist’s words. Perfect writing. No mushiness at all. And the last scene when Oskar meets the bullies for the last time… Ah, my heart! at the twist in the story. But I hate spoiling things for other people… so you have to read it yourself to find out.

John Ajvide Lindqvist writes a long novel, but nowhere did I feel bored or lost – but there were many many times I had to put the book down to remind myself that yes, these are pretend characters… they’re not really hurting… It’s very easy to get swept up in Lindqvist’s universe, and the characters end up as these real breathing people… that it almost hurt me physically to read about what was happening. Now, that’s a sign of good writing, people. Even in translation. Now, tell me, should I watch the movie now? Or will I only be disappointed since the book was so good?

I highly recommend this book (to those who can stomach it) – the translation reads a bit dry, but the strong story and characters carry it along. Let the Right One In: A Novel is available on Amazon paperback for $10.85 (savings of $5.10!). If you’ve never heard of this book, add it to your must-read-list.

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Behind the Scenes Video – Elle Photoshoot (Adam Lambert, Kris Allen & Allison Iraheta)

Yeah, the actual Elle issue that came out with Adam / Kris/ Allison was a total wash for me, too. But hey, at least we get to see behind-the-scenes video, right?

ETA : The embedded video won’t load, just go directly to the Elle site. Thank goodness for YouTube!

Kris on Elle Photoshoot (MTV)

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FREE E-Book Download – House Of Danger (Choose Your Own Adventure #6) (Kindle Edition) by R. A. Montgomery

The Amazon Kindle store is making ‘House Of Danger’ (Choose Your Own Adventure #6) (Kindle Edition) by R. A. Montgomery FREE for download until November 26. Click here to download!

Weren’t these books (Choose Your Own Adventure Series) very popular like in the 80s? It’s cool to see the series come back to popularity. My dad has a couple of old books from the series hanging around the house, and I always found them amusing – in a 12-year-old way…

Book Description:

Is there evil in a modern glass house built on the site of a terrible Civil War prison? You think there is. This is one case that maybe you shouldn’t take. Despite your successes as a young detective, the house and its missing owner have haunted you more than any other case. Maybe this is a sign you shouldn’t continue? Are there spirits and resurrected soldiers in the basement seeking revenge on their wartime enemies? Will they mistake you for the general who landed them in prison in the first place? No knowledge of American history could prepare you for what you’re about to encounter now! Unimaginable dangers, including alternate worlds and half-human baboons, await you!

Excerpt (From Barnes & Noble):

WILL THE HOUSE OF DANGER BE YOUR BIGGEST CASE EVER? OR WILL IT BE YOUR LAST?

You are an accomplished young detective with several tough cases under your belt. Then comes a case that is as difficult as it is frightening. An anonymous caller begs for help. But before you can find out more, the line goes dead…

The phone rings again, and this time you are ready.
“Hello,” you say.
“Help, I need your hel-l-l-lp….”
“Who are you?” you ask. “What is your name?”
“I’m scared,” the voice says. “They’re after me…”
Click. The phone goes dead again. In the few seconds that have passed, your telephone-tracing device has already found the number of the other phone as well as the name and address of its owner: 555-7259, HENRY MARSDEN, 1100 HEDGE BROOK

If you decide you should go immediately to 1100 Hedge Brook, turn to page 4. If you decide to give your friends Ricardo and Lisa a chance to call back, turn to page 14.

1100 Hedge Brook turns out to be a modern glass house. But a small plaque at the entrance gate informs you the grounds were once the site of a Civil War prison. Is it safe to go in alone? Your psychic radar tells you that you don’t have a moment to lose. It also tells you that someone or some thing inside is very, very EVIL!

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Adam Lambert – Video of Rehearsals for the AMA’s + Access Hollywood Behind the Scenes (For Your Entertainment)

So, who else is loving all these exclusive videos from ABC? Raises hand… This time, if you head on to the ABC American Music Awards website, they have video of Adam rehearsing on set, with the band and the dancers. Looks like it’s going to be a very very theatrical production. Can’t wait for Sunday!

… and of course, it’s now on YouTube! Also, how’d Adam luck out and get that drummer?! He was great!

P.S. Click here for some photos of Adam heading into his rehearsals. (It’s also on ontd_ai if you’re a member)

MORE VIDEOS (AMA Website, MTV, ABC News, AMA Coke Correspondent, ET Online and Access Hollywood)

Update 5 : The ABC American Music Awards website put up another behind-the-scene video

Video where Adam discusses his performance

MTV Interview – Adam Lambert Promises A Sexy AMA Performance

more about "Adam Lambert Promises A Sexy AMA Perf…", posted with vodpod

Update 4 : Adam Lambert talks about performing at AMAs (ABC News)

more about “Adam Lambert talks about performing a…“, posted with vodpod

 

Provocative performances lined up for AMAs (ABC News)

more about “Provocative performances lined up for…“, posted with vodpod

 

Update 3 : Check out this interview that David Lehre, Coke Correspondent for the AMAs, conducted with Adam, and posted on the AMA Facebook page. (Adam mentions another bonus track, this time, by Sam Sparro!)

Update 2 : You can also watch a BTS look at Adam’s AMA rehearsal plus a short interview on ET Online.

Update : Access Hollywood’s coverage of Adam’s FYE MV shoot! O.M.G. the video!

What was aired on TV

Extended Web Clip

more about “Access Hollywood : On the set of Adam…“, posted with vodpod

 

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PHOTOS!

* More photos @ ontd_ai #1,ontd_ai #2, Neon limelight has tons of untagged photos!

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