Fame and riches can be yours! Procedural/action dramas are in and you too can create one if you just follow these very simple steps:

Always start with a couple. He must be boyishly handsome and she must be smoking hot. You can go “mature” but then one has to be an established television star, and the other has to be a J. Crew model. In rare cases you can go “both mature” (CSI: NEW YORK) but then one has to be a former movie star and the other has to be an established television star who’s had a lot of work done. A LOT of work done.

In the (many) scenes that the couple is together there must be equal parts forced banter and equal parts technical gobbledeegook that no one can understand.

You must have three or four attractive yet quirky support characters. Their primary function is comic relief, paperwork, and shameless exposition. Every other line should begin with, “Bingo! It seems our suspect has three priors for assault, two for armed robbery, and one for libel.”

Each week our “team” must solve a baffling murder case. Guy shot with 300 year old bullet. Girl freezes to death in the Mojave Desert. Beverly Hills housewife found dead at Ross For Less.

Their headquarters must be sleek, state-of-the-art, something out of THE JETSONS. There must be windows galore. I thought I had seen it all when patient rooms were all glass on HOUSE (people could just walk by as the nurse was changing your bedpan), but this week BODY OF PROOF went them one better. Dana Delany (established television star so network approved) performed an autopsy in a glass enclosed room with floor to ceiling windows to the outside along one wall. Folks can just stroll by, eating that Snickers bar from the vending machine as the coroner lays out and tags Jane Doe’s entrails. I’m waiting to see this trend extend to a sperm bank. “Okay, Mr. Johnson, you just go into that glass cubicle and fill up this cup.”

It’s sometimes best if your team has its own name. That way you can make up its responsibilities. “We only solve murders that were committed between 1987 and 2003.” “We only solve murders of rich people who live on estates that are no less than 65 acres.” “We only solve bite wound crimes.” To avoid audiences saying, “No agencies like that exist” you’re encouraged to just make up a name and assume
characters in your show all know it. The Mentalist works for CBI – the California Bureau of Investigation. They have jurisdiction over… I dunno, police forces or sheriff’s departments. Just wing it. When your lead confronts a suspect and says, “Halt! CBI!”, he’s allowed to be terrified and not say, “CBI? What the fuck is that?” Recently on HAWAII FIVE-O, McGarrett wanted to question someone we were told was a tourist from the mainland. The guy seems him and is immediately wary. McGarret says, “Wanna talk to you. I’m from Five-O.” Hearing "Five-O" the guy flees. A tourist is supposed to know what “Five-O” means? On the show itself they established it was a name they JUST MADE UP. And now it’s so famous, visitors from Dubuque know it. So just pick three letters. Or one number and one letter.

If your series is set in a lab it must have $5,000,000,000 worth of equipment, even if the lab is at a community college. If it’s a police station they must have computer capability to track anyone, break into any city grid, and retrieve information at a second’s notice. There must be surveillance cameras everywhere – jungles included.

Very early on, uncover a suspect who appears to all the world to be the killer. He hated the victim, it was his knife in the guy’s chest, there’s surveillance video showing him do it, he just got out of prison for committing the exact same murder with the exact same M.O. twenty years ago, and when they pick him up he’s in bed with the victim’s wife, reading the life insurance policy while banging her.

Big twist that no one can see coming: He is not the killer.

Suspect number two is discovered. The team finds him hanging out in some public place. The second they identify themselves as Five-O or Ice-9 or WTF he takes off. You must now have your obligatory chase scene. If your star is a “mature” you are allowed to have one of the support goons go after him. Usually there are some shots volleyed. Very exciting. The perp is tackled, handcuffed, dragged into HQ, and it turns out he’s not the guy either. Don’t worry that people are going to say, “Then why did he run?” It’s the only action in the show. They not only buy it, they’ve come to expect it.

So now you’re back to square one. Everyone is baffled. Your star says, “I don’t know. There’s something we’re missing.” A co-worker will walk by and say something innocuous like, “Anyone see my coffee mug?” And a light bulb will go on over the star’s head. “Mug! That’s it!” He uses that fragment to solve the case and lead us to the real killer. Now this is important. You must set up this killer by showing him early and establishing him as the least likely person in the entire world to do such a thing.  He's mending butterfly wings.  That way, when it turns out to be him it’s this major surprise – the shock ending no one ever could have predicted.

How do you ultimately explain the baffling murders? Any way you want to. The frozen guy was dumped off by an ice cream truck. The 300 year old bullet was sold by Larry King, who originally bought it when it was new.

You're still not done though. You must have the scene where the stars report back to the widow/mother/brother that they got the killer. Closure has been achieved. The star is hugged. He smiles. It’s all worth it.

But is he happy? Oh no. The last scene should be a beauty shot of the hero heading home alone at night. He comforts others but he himself is very lonely. A John Mayer song plays. Very moody. The camera pulls back (big crane shot), and you’re out. Not a dry seat in the house.

That’s it. Follow those rules and we'll see you next May at the upfronts.  I want shared creator credit.  

The most important statement so far on Nicolas Cage's recent temper tantrum . ( Via .)

View Image ›

Audio Archive > Live Music Archive > Smashing Pumpkins > Smashing Pumpkins Live at Cain's Ballroom on 2010-09-24 Smashing Pumpkins Smashing Pumpkins Live at Cain's Ballroom on 2010-09-24 Description 01 A Song for a Son 02 Astral Planes 03 Today 04 Ava Adore 05 Drown 06 As Rome Burns 07 Freak 08 Eye 09 Bullet with Butterfly Wings 10 United States 11 ...

Matthew Yglesias: "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" is a smart take on Obama's problematic relationship with liberal intellectuals.

(By @mattYglesias - Editor - Politics, Matthew Yglesias)

Just because. ;)

♪Bullet With Butterfly Wings - Smashing Pumpkins #inthemood

'We're a nation that doesn't know how to mix foods,' Sky Saxon told me in June of last year , in what was more an improvised sermon than interview.

despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage

Words & Images by: L. Paul Mann

Smashing Pumpkins :: 09.04.10 :: Lobero Theatre :: Santa Barbara, CA

9/4/10 - Smashing Pumpkins & Bad City @ Lobero Theatre (Santa Barbara, CA) View Photos

There was surreal mash up of cultures at the historic Lobero Theatre last Saturday night. The tiny 680-seat theater is the oldest continuously operating performance hall in California. The venue was founded in 1873 and is a state landmark with a rich history of stage, screen, and musical performances. Today, the Lobero is run much the same way as it was 100 years ago, but by a non-profit organization. The usher staff is composed mostly of retired, well-dressed volunteers who maintain antiquated rules of etiquette. Patrons are personally seated only during breaks in a performance. The crowd is expected to stay in their rather small, stodgy old seats for the entire performance. Wealthy, mostly elderly patrons rewarded for their support of the non-profit theatre with season tickets seem to be happy with the old school etiquette. The system usually works for most types of performances booked at the theatre, like live jazz bands and folk singers, but every once in awhile a rock band is booked to play the intimate space and all hell breaks loose. My Morning Jacket played a marathon four concerts at the venue several years ago and fans were dancing in the aisles and on their seats all night long.

Bad City by L. Paul Mann

So, the announcement that Smashing Pumpkins would be playing the little venue came as a great surprise to most rock fans. The opening act for the September 4th show quickly established the mood of the evening and showed a readiness to unleash a rocking barrage of music on unsuspecting fans. Bad City, a young new band of rockers from Chicago with their first album released just a few weeks ago, exploded onstage. Handpicked by Head Pumpkin Billy Corgan to open the show, the group is composed of energetic teenage rockers with a collective old soul. Sounding like a veteran hair band from the 80s, the band launched a traditional rock assault on the audience. Led by charismatic lead singer Josh Serek, the band joked and laughed with the audience between songs. Serek, the last member to join the group, actually hails from Temecula, and his sleepy Southern California wine town seems to be spawning an inordinate amount of successful rockers of late. Other members of the band also bantered back and forth with the crowd. One guy asked "if the people sitting in the front were there for the Kenny G light jazz," playing into the evening's mash-up between irreverent rock and the world of old school manners. Bad City boasts a double guitar threat in Max Perenchio and Tom Schleiter battling in a six-string war on many songs. Most of the band members were solid back-up singers as well. Serek quipped on the last song of their solid set that as long as the band's members are alive, rock and roll will never die. Considering how young they are that means rock has a good long road ahead.

Billy Corgan and his new Pumpkins sauntered onstage after intermission and continued the light banter about the restrictive, reticent atmosphere. Fresh from their performance, the Saturday before as headliners for the Sunset Strip Music Festival [see review & pics here] in front of over 30,000 people, the band looked surprisingly relaxed and engaged in the tiny venue. With most of their sound and lighting equipment crammed onto the small stage, the band immediately began to assault the audience with a wall of exploding audio and visual stimulation. The blinding lights and strobes of all shapes and sizes actually forced some fans to don sunglasses.

Billy Corgan by L. Paul Mann

In the lighting chaos, Corgan screamed and wailed in his trademark voice and attacked his guitar like a madman. The new Pumpkins, looking surprisingly like the old Pumpkins, followed his lead in a frenzy of sound. The new members include Jeff Schroeder on guitar, who gave Corgan a run for his money in guitar battle throughout the set. Nicole Fiorentino is a veteran rock bass player who has played with numerous bands including Veruca Salt. Young drumming prodigy Michael Byrne rounds out the new lineup.

Mixing old songs with new, the Pumpkins tore through a nearly two-hour set. Opening with a Middle Eastern tinged new song titled "Astral Plane," the band quickly established that they could live up to their historic pedigree. Other new songs included "Freak," "A Song for a Son" and "My Love Is Winter." But it was the old classics that got the crowd excited and out of their tiny, wooden seats. "Today" had fans screaming with anticipation. An awkward moment came when the band played the classic "Bullet With Butterfly Wings." As he has done countless times, Corgan paused and pointed at the audience to sing the familiar chorus - "Despite all my rage/ I am still just a rat in a cage" - but a seemingly clueless Santa Barbara audience stood silent and bewildered like the proverbial deer in the Pumpkins' headlights. The feisty Corgan, however, showing just how relaxed he was onstage, didn't get flustered and sarcastically took a moment to teach the audience the lyrics. He began with an ironic, slow annunciation of the chorus, slowly speeding it up until he devolved into a guitar wailing and screaming frenzy.

By the time the band launched into the 1993 hit "Cherub," the crowd had fully come alive, sensing their good fortune at being invited to Corgan's little party at the Lobero. That classic song devolved into a salute to the sixties - a sound that Corgan has admired and incorporated into his recent side project Spirit in the Sky - first playing a Hendrix jam of the "Star Spangled Banner," then morphing into the beginning of Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker." This evolved into a classic drum solo, giving Byrne a chance to showcase his incredible talents. The band returned to play a searing encore to the main set. Finally, after three more tunes and more friendly chatter, Corgan thanked the crowd for attending the event and the sleepy ushers slowly drew back the exit curtains. It was truly a surreal scene perhaps only possible in Santa Barbara

Setlist
Astral Planes, Ava Adore, Drown, As Rome Burns, A Song for a Son, Today, Eye, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, United States (with Star Spangled Banner and Moby Dick interludes), My Love Is Winter Perfect, Cherub Rock, That's the Way (My Love Is), Tonight, Tonight, Stand Inside Your Love, Tarantula
E: Disarm, Freak, Zero

Smashing Pumpkins Tour Dates :: Smashing Pumpkins News :: Smashing Pumpkins Concert Reviews

JamBase | Smashed
Go See Live Music!

Section: Gaming News, Features, Lists, Mashups, Handhelds, iPhone & iPod Touch & iPad, Updates, Apple App Store

The Apple App Store gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store game releases. We cover them all - good and not so good - in their respective categories with a breakdown of the great games and the free games right where you want ‘em, at the top and in your face. The list is available every Monday, right as you are about to start that long work week.

Netflix finally comes to the iPhone and all these great games, this is certainly the best iPhone week we’ve had in a while. With the upcoming September 1, 2010, Apple event, next week isn’t looking too bad either. Soak it up my friends.

What You Might Want To Check Out

iOcarina: Free Version
“The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, great game or GREATEST GAME EVER? Did you remember all the great songs of this game? With this app, you can play the Ocarina of Link, and try to remember the songs of the Game. In this free app, only a few of this songs are available, but if you like this, be sure of download the FULL Version, with all the Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask songs!”

Knight’s Rush: Price: $2.99
“From the developers of the hit app A QUEST OF KNIGHTS ONRUSH comes the groundbreaking full game, KNIGHT’S RUSH! This huge sequel by Chillingo and MoreGames puts YOU in the suit of armor, as your Knight rampages through eight incredible worlds and takes on a host of deadly enemies with over-the-top skills and attacks aplenty! KNIGHT’S RUSH is bigger, badder, and better than ever before!”

Dodonpachi Resurrection: Price: $4.99
“The Legendary shooter, now for iPhone and iPod touch! Two fully-featured game modes: iPhone Mode, an exclusive adaptation tailored to the iPhone/iPod touch portable format, and Arcade Mode, a port of the arcade shooter classic.”

Toy Story 3: Operation Camouflage: Price: $1.99
“Code Red Soldier! Operation Camouflage: Execute! Let’s Move, Move, Move! Heads up recruit, it’s time for Recon Basic Training! Your mission is to find top secret items camouflaged throughout Andy’s Room, Bonnie’s Room and Sunnyside Daycare. Only the best of the best can find them all. Are you up for the task soldier? Operation Camouflage has 20 missions throughout four locations: Andy’s Room, Bonnie’s Room, Caterpillar Room and Butterfly Room!”

What’s Free

WordFive Lite
“WordFive is a simple five letter word game where players are given five guesses to determine a randomly chosen five letter word. WordFive combines the fun aspects of word jumbles and word guessing games to create a wildly exciting, mind boggling adventure. Solving word puzzles has never been so thrilling!”

CasinoVegasSlots
“This is a standard three slot machine. Eye appealing user interface, very smooth roll of slots, smileys and sound effects. User can bet 1, 2 and 3 coins and get the credits based on the winning combinations.”

DJ Music Free
“Think you have what it takes to be a DJ for the techno scene? With DJ Music you’ll be able to move the paddles to the spin of the beat plate while working your rhythm to catch the music pellets around you. As you progress through each stage you’ll unlock hidden songs depending on how well you DJ. In DJ Music Free, spin 3 separate techno tracks in various stages to test your DJ skills. Be sure to catch as many music pellets you can or else your gig is up.”

Beemer Trivia
“Beemer Trivia, for the iPhone and iPad, is a trivia game designed by and for BMW Motorcycle enthusiasts.”

Galaxy Golf
“Galaxy Golf is the first game ever on the iPhone that brings your Facebook friends and photos into the game and allows you to save or eject them into the deep cold of space! Galaxy Golf is a game about exploration that plays like a mix between mini golf and croquet. The player chooses a galaxy unveiling a group of courses to play; each course consists of 9 or 18 holes like a normal golf course. Instead of just one hole like in normal golf, a Galaxy Golf level can have multiple holes that are represented by stars. The player needs to connect the stars in order to finish the hole. Travel through space at warp speed is not free…it creates a lot of heat! The player needs to watch their heat and how much force they use to travel around on each hole in order to get the highest ranking possible.”

TIC TAC B
“You can now play TIC TAC B on your IPhone Tic Tac B doesn’t required internet connection to be always ON. You can play against your IPhone . TIC TAC B, the game has more X B’s in it than your last letter from your old Aunt Sofie, has been around for a long long time, In fact TIC TAC B was probably the first strategy game that most of us ever played.”

Phase Words
“A unique, fun, and addictive word game that is the antidote to boredom. This game introduces a new strategy among word games…use them or lose them.”

Corsair
“Take to the skies and take out your opponent! Corsair is a game that harkens back to the retro arcade shoot-em-ups, and brings in a good bit of social competition too. Configure your ship with your choice of equipment and weapons, then dogfight against the ships that other players have made. Then, use the spoils of victory to buy even better gear!”

Nano Tank Free
“Free version of the retro-awesome Nano Tank, featuring three levels of silky smooth vector-style goodness. Drive your tank around a maze, dodge enemy gliders, and destroy enemy bases. Intuitive multi-touch control scheme, simple and indisputably retro, but incredibly fun.”

Word Quest Lite
“Word Quest Lite - the coolest and absolutely free word search game on the App Store! Play unlimited, super exciting word search puzzles to your heart’s content. Slick user interface, cool bookworm theme, online leaderboards and intense GRE-GMAT/Top American Words/Birds wordlists will challenge you for sure!”

Lazy Joe’s Warehouse
“Challenge yourself by helping Lazy Joe sort out the mess in his warehouse with the least effort possible. In this tricky puzzle game you push crates and use elevators to solve problems on two floors! Includes high resolution graphics for iPhone 4! Comes with 27 free levels of varying length and difficulty, and more available through in app purchase.”

iOcarina: Free Version
“The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, great game or GREATEST GAME EVER? Did you remember all the great songs of this game? With this app, you can play the Ocarina of Link, and try to remember the songs of the Game. In this free app, only a few of this songs are available, but if you like this, be sure of download the FULL Version, with all the Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask songs!”

Winners Circle - Horse Race Game
“Horse racing excitement comes to life. Jockey your horse in this dynamic graphical virtual horse race game. Only the skilled with the best time make it to the winners circle. Our simulated racing game puts you in the saddle as you go head-to-head against other players for bragging rights. Go solo to challenge yourself and attain the best time record. Finally, your chance to become a superstar athlete riding your top thoroughbred on the track.”

FRONTLINE Plus Fleas & Desist
“Fleas, eggs, larvae, and ticks are on the attack. Match them up in sets of three or more to destroy the suckers. And when the going gets tough, be sure to enlist the help of FRONTLINE Plus.”

Guggle Lite
“Step into a forgotten magical kingdom and guide Bubble through cursed levels where danger lurks at every corner of this puzzle arcade-adventure game. Easy to learn, but tricky to master controls make Guggle a blast to play for all ages as they test their eye-hand coordination and dexterity. Are you up to the challenge?”

Domacy
“Why check in when you can break in? Domacy uses your iPhone’s GPS, and nearby local businesses as the base for a game of Risk-style multi-player world conquest. Buy items, use them to attack or defend your fortresses, form a clan, and conquer the globe. Achieve Domacy today!”

Alpha Fall Lite
“Guide the letter blocks down the board to spell words and score big. Anyone can spell “cat” but it will take a true master to put together combos to reach that top score. But whatever you do, don’t let the letters reach the top or it’s game over! For an extra challenge, try playing hard mode.”

Car Rush
“Car rush is a simple driving game. Avoid other cars, and survive as long as possible. Also do not forget to watch the fuel gauge. When make it run out of fuel, the game is over.”

Travel City
“Tap the arrows to direct and park the Asia Miles-branded cars. You only have a limited amount of time to park the cars - so hurry!”

Jean’s Boutique Lite
“Jean’s Boutique Time Management Game for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Manage your own virtual Jean’s Boutique. Run your own Jean’s Boutique, a great fashion game combined with the fun of serving customers. To make it in the fast-paced world of fashion, Jean will need to be fast on her feet, dedicated to her customers, wise in her upgrades. For fast fashion fun, there’s no place like Jean’s Boutique! Recommended for fans of Time Management Games.”

BlockDude Lite
“BlockDude is back! This remake of the TI-83 game that many have played throughout their time in school stays true to the original with a few new additions such as themes and sounds. Relive the glory days and see if you can still remember how to beat BlockDude!”

Jow Chaos Ver.
“Begins at Day-1 the Chaos Day. Player should control “Hoffen” to deliver the potion to the customers the frantic and picky zombies. After drinking the potion, the zombies will be purified, and they will pay for it. Else they will infect Hoffen when they reach the end of the table. After three times, game is over. With the touch feature of Iphone, player uses finger (first finger is recommended) to slide from right to left to deliver the potion.”

What’s New

Action

Knight’s Rush: Price: $2.99
“From the developers of the hit app A QUEST OF KNIGHTS ONRUSH comes the groundbreaking full game, KNIGHT’S RUSH! This huge sequel by Chillingo and MoreGames puts YOU in the suit of armor, as your Knight rampages through eight incredible worlds and takes on a host of deadly enemies with over-the-top skills and attacks aplenty! KNIGHT’S RUSH is bigger, badder, and better than ever before!”

Zombies Ate My Baby: Price: $0.99
“You better prepare yourself for the great amount of fun! Defend yourself from the hordes of zombies in the greatest action game on your iphone/ipod. Enjoy the high quality comics who will lead you through the entire game. Be the best in survival mode!”

Al Rambone - Hussein in the Membrane: Price: $1.99
“Classic run and gun combat game. You are Al Rambone, washed up war veteran whose only skill is to kill. Command him through different insane levels, crawling with the deadliest foes and their teddy bear grenades. Fight your way through four gargantuan bosses in order to reach the final Evil. With amazing visuals and addicting game play you will find your self lost in this peculiar War Zone. Get involved in this insanely funny adventure!”

Adventure

NOTHING

Arcade

R TYPE: Price: $1.99
“Get back to the ‘80s video-arcade experience! Play the relentlessly challenging side-scroller shoot ‘em up on iPhone & iPod touch for retro-gaming at its best. Why mess with a classic? R-Type for iPhone & iPod touch stays true to its roots, re-capturing the look and feel of one of the biggest arcade game hits from back in the day. Blast off and strike the evil Bydo Empire! Pilot your futuristic fighter, the R-9a “Arrowhead,” and attack wave after wave of Bydo baddies in old-school side-shooter style. It’s R-Type just the way you remember it, and it totally rules!”

Worldy Wings: Price: $1.99
“Join the Worldy Wings fleet in the ultimate flying adventure! Sail through uncharted worlds fighting wicked enemies! Select the right plane for each world and score as many points as you can! Take advantage of the Bonus Round and reload your plane after each world!”

Dodonpachi Resurrection: Price: $4.99
“The Legendary shooter, now for iPhone and iPod touch! Two fully-featured game modes: iPhone Mode, an exclusive adaptation tailored to the iPhone/iPod touch portable format, and Arcade Mode, a port of the arcade shooter classic.”

The Princess Road: Price: $1.99
“The devil who kidnapped the princess,a symbol of peace and hope, undermined morale. And the devil is occupying the kingdom as surging waves. The sly devil shattered hearts of the princess and spread then around the castle. Then the devil ordered his inferiors to keep pieces. Be a warrior. You wake the princess as you collect all pieces of her heart with her friend fairy. Break through throwing knives and steel shells from the inferiors. Rescue the princess and liberate the kingdom from the devil’s hands. The beautiful fantasy world - beautiful graphics and musics lead you the world of fantasy fairy tale. The stunning action of knives - feel to elliminate all throwing knives from everywhere with your sppedy and accurate touching.”

Super Mega Worm: Price: $2.99
“Mother Earth is on the brink of extinction and has released her last defense, the Great Death Worm, Wojira. Wojira is on a revenge mission to destroy all the Human parasites. Crawl and eat your way through waves of humans and their robots of destruction. Grow and evolve into the ultimate weapon of destruction. You are the last line of defense, can you save the world?”

Airfight Heroes: Price: $0.99
“AirFight Heroes is a mobile game of vertical shooter.The game has outstanding 2D graphics and high quality music and sound effect.There are two player jet-fighters available with respective unique bullet style and firing means as well as three optional safety bullets in the game. Players can elevate weapon levels via obtaining energy props and can also choose weapons by taking advantage of alternating props. Six stages of the games available: Island Base Battle, Town Upper Air Battle, Railway Line Battle, Yellow Sand Base Battle, Gear of War Plant Battle and Experiments of Variation Base Battle. Different level has distinctive and various enemy fighters, weapons and bosses. With provocative battle graphics, gorgeous bullet scenes, gradual upgrading levels, mighty boss in every level and expanding weapons, the overall quality of the game competes with arcade vertical shooting games.”

Wing Era: The Golden Flight: Price: $0.99
“Wing Era is a line-drawing control game and contains more elements of fun. Just touch and draw a path, and you can control your propeller aircraft fleet to Fly, Take off, Landing, Obtain Bonus Items, Dodge Colliding with other Aircrafts, and etc. However, not only the flight control, but also the fuel and shields of aircrafts need to be noticed. There are also some useful bonus items to help you playing this game. Gather more Stars to gain higher score records!”

Board

NOTHING

Card

Freecell Classic - insanely addictive card game: Price: $0.99
“Playing freecell on your iphone is now a feast to your eyes with cool grpahics and 3D fireworks. A must have freecell game on your iphone if you are a card game lover. The beauty of the game matches your iphone beauty.”

Casino

NOTHING

Dice

NOTHING

Educational

Mathstronaut: Price: $2.99
“Mathstronaut is a fast paced maths game for kids. Questions play out in a variety of crazy, colourful and funny animations as players blast their way into space. The game features addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. There are four difficulty levels, based on the Australian school curriculum, and two great ways to play the game. In Blast Off, players must answer questions correctly to power their spaceship towards a distant alien planet, pushing past their best scores to get deeper into space. In Countdown, players have a set time limit to answer questions at the selected difficulty level. Ideal for standardised tests or for teachers to run an exciting live leaderboard using the App-titude online system. Mathstronaut interfaces with the App-titude online assessment system, where teachers can view up-to-the-minute student progress and participation. Mathstronaut has been evaluated by middle school students and provides fun challenges for younger learners as well as consolidation of skills for older students.”

Family

Toy Story 3: Operation Camouflage: Price: $1.99
“Code Red Soldier! Operation Camouflage: Execute! Let’s Move, Move, Move! Heads up recruit, it’s time for Recon Basic Training! Your mission is to find top secret items camouflaged throughout Andy’s Room, Bonnie’s Room and Sunnyside Daycare. Only the best of the best can find them all. Are you up for the task soldier? Operation Camouflage has 20 missions throughout four locations: Andy’s Room, Bonnie’s Room, Caterpillar Room and Butterfly Room!”

Music

DJ Music: Price: $1.99
“Think you have what it takes to be a DJ for the techno scene? With DJ Music you’ll be able to move the paddles to the spin of the beat plate while working your rhythm to catch the music pellets around you. As you progress through each stage you’ll unlock hidden songs depending on how well you DJ.”

Katy Perry Revenge: Price: $4.99
“The party has landed! Introducing KATY PERRY REVENGE, the smash new app from the makers of Tap Tap Revenge, the number 1 most-downloaded music game for the iPhone/iPod Touch. Tap the targets flying down your touchscreen to the beats of her biggest hits, and soak in the gorgeous themes and graphics inspired by the albums, videos, fashion, and fun of Miss Katy herself! All tracks included in the app are importable to Tap Tap Revenge 3 !!!”

Puzzle

No, Human: Price: $1.99
“No, Human” is a physics based action-puzzle game, taking place during the latest conflict between mankind’s puny struggle for meaning and the universe. With your skillful finger, a delight in destruction and some patience, you will demobilize the human presence outside of planet earth in a joyful way.”

White Knight HD: Price: $0.99
“For years the white knight has been trying to get his noble steed to learn new moves. He’s trying to make his horse run straight and diagonal lines. Unwilling to break the traditions of his ancestors, horsey refused. Help the young horse prove that he can get anywhere using the steps he already knows. Show the white knight that you can guide horsey though any obstacle, complex as it may be. Using the classic L shaped chess-knight movement, navigate your horse to safty. Don’t forget that time is short so fast thinking is required. Seeing the bigger picture and planning ahead will lead you to success. The more you practice - the faster you get.”

A Super Fisherman: Price: $1.99
“A Super Fisherman is the fun puzzle game, you are a fisherman, tap anywhere on the screen to throw the spinning rod, you need catch some target fish to enter next level, and earn enough money to buy some items.”

iRobbo HD: Price: $3.99
“This application became number 1 PAID PUZZLE GAME for iPhone in Poland, and now it is available on iPad! The iRobbo HD is a game where You, Robbo the robot, have to collect needed amount of bolts and leave the planet on a warpship. This of course is not as easy as it sounds. The game, after all, is a mixture of action and puzzle genres. The game contains 50 levels of increasing difficulty. Some levels require good reaction and fast decision making, some can not be complete without careful deliberation. The goal of the game is to reach Robbo’s home world - planet Zyyr. To get to Zyyr, You must complete all 50 levels. You have to find keys to open locked doors, get bolts, move though the laser beams at the right time, avoid dangerous enemies, position objects in the right place and move explosives to a useful place so that you can create a path when you detonate them.”

Racing

NOTHING

Role Playing

Rhythm Knight: Price: $1.99
“Rhythm Knight- music action rpg game! A long time ago, in a kingdom called Cadence far far away… An unfortunate Knight, Luke Born with a curse of misfortune, until one day… Rhythm Knight is a story-driven, action-oriented music game in which you fight with enemy using classic music cue. Unlike most music games, which focus on instruments, Rhythm Knight integrates classic music, Action and RPG elements, creates a unique game experience for all the people who love music and comedy.”

Phantasy Star II: Price: $2.99
“An epic RPG with turn-based battles that is hailed as one of the greatest games of all time. Build your characters, select the right weapons and armor, and take on the forces of evil through turn-based battles. Fight against over 100 bio-monsters and mechanical creatures to save the Algo Star system from the evil Dark Force and Mother Brain.”

War of the Titans: Price: $1.99
“Zeus raged because of the defiance by King and Queen of Argos. Hades provoked Zeus to punish Argos, then Zeus ordered monster Kraken to destroy Argos. At this moment Perseus came out to save Argos with his companions and they wanted to find out how to defeat Kraken together.”

Sports

Field & Stream Fishing: Price: $2.99
“Field & Stream Fishing is an exciting, arcade-style fishing game that is faster and more satisfying than any “simulation-style” fishing game in the iTunes Store today. Its target-like casting, reeling action, and wily fish population give every caster a chance hone their skills and haul in the big ones. Fish in famous real world locations like Whitebear Lake, Lake Amistad, and Kenai River. Why be limited to just the top-of-the-lake view? Field & Stream Fishing takes you underwater where the ‘reel’ action is! You can lure, scare, and witness the fight first hand.”

Strategy

Knight Defense: Price: $0.99
“Knight Defense combines action and strategy in a dynamic re-imagining of the tower defense genre. It’s bold, intelligent, challenging and fun. Defeat all waves of enemies without losing your King. Your pieces fire at enemies in distinct patterns reminiscent of chess pieces. Each time a piece fires in a particular direction there is a short delay before it can fire again in that direction. If an enemy hits one of your pieces it explodes and damages that piece (and sometimes the pieces around it). Combos: destroy multiple enemies at once to greatly increase your score. Each of your pieces can be upgraded 7 times, increasing health and attack, as well as healing the piece back to full health and allowing it to fire immediately in all available directions. Each piece has a unique special ability with a cooldown before it can be used again. Example: making nearby pieces fire twice as fast or healing nearby pieces. Enemies vary in health, speed and attack power. Enemies home towards your King, so where you position him determines their movement. Pieces can protect each other, reducing the damage they take. Tap the skip button make the next wave arrive immediately.”

Trivia

Word

iPhone and iPod Touch Links of the Week

Appletell: [Free apps roundup for August 27th, 2010] [iPhone, iPod and iPad product news - August 27, 2010]

Full Story » | Written by Kris Rosado for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

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The patent prince bets more than $2 billion on a next-generation display technology.

For over a decade I have enjoyed so very much being a leading voice for custom solutions that integrate with Microsoft Office. The last 7 ½  years of that time have been as a Microsoft employee gleefully carrying my blue-badge with me all over the world. I’ve gone many places and talked with thousands of people about developing custom productivity solutions. Above all, I’ve been continually amazed and impressed with the many ways our customers extend and customize Office, SharePoint, Exchange, and the rest of the platform to suit their business needs. I remain as confident as ever in the value of Office 2010 and related products to Microsoft’s customers.

Beginning in September, I will be giving voice to new ideas, topics, and initiatives as I begin working for Savvy Sherpa, the best strategic research and business development firm in the world. I’ll be working with valued clients in a variety of industries to incubate and pilot new business products, campaigns, and processes.

Given the changes, I’m retiring this MSDN blog as of today, 11 August 2010. There will be no more updates, and comments will be turned off, but I’ll leave the content as it is. And, I have a new blog oriented around innovation and looking at a variety of problems in new strategic ways:

http://ideasareeverything.wordpress.com

You can also follow my new updates on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/johnrdurant

Here is  the final Rock Thought of the Day (unless someday I become a writer for Total Guitar magazine<wink>):

The Heavier Side: Top Ten Songs and Why--

10. Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love by Van Halen— Strangely this song still conveys some element of pop, but it’s actually a very heavy song, loaded with attitude, anger, and isolation. Eddie’s guitar work is unmistakably his own. Re-recorded today it would sound richer and more forceful.

9. Don’t Forget Me by Red Hot Chili Peppers—This song evokes such desperate colors, one of the finest examples of musicians exhibiting maximum trust—trusting the notes and tones to do their job. It very patiently builds layers of dissonance, loneliness.

8. Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin—This is the band in full flight—all the swagger, the seduction, the psychedelic trip. The rhythm section is utterly unshakable allowing Jimmy and Robert to take us places we’ve never been before or since.

7. United States by The Smashing Pumpkins—This song shouts so loud that you are forced to hear. It’s 11 minutes of wrath unleashed. Billy and Jimmy tear down every wall with this one. As my readers know, it’s hard to pick only one SP song, because Geek USA, Silverf***, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Everlasting Gaze, and Marquis in Spades, Tales of Scorched Earth, and so many others are so very good.

6. Tom Sawyer by Rush— This song takes an ingénue and casts him against a backdrop of modern confusion where he’s threatened, ready to strike back. It crashes like a wave on the shores of our innocence.

5. I’m Broken by Pantera—If you ever wondered why Dimebag Darrell is so revered, just listen to the first two bars, and you’ll know—it’s riffing at its best. The whole song is a megaphone of distressed indignation.

4. Judas Rising by Judas Priest—Relentless and fierce. Metal posers of the last 20 years need to use this masterpiece of smoking hot rage as the measuring stick for their efforts.

3. Centuries of Sin by Probot—This is David Grohl’s homage to his metal heroes, and Cronos does the vocals. The song is almost painfully tight, and the energy is frantic. I’ve never heard anything quite like it. A real standout in a world of white-hot wildness.

2. Jambi by Tool— It is one of the few songs I can listen to multiple times in succession and never tire of a single note. It’s as close to a perfect song as mere mortals can write.

1.  Blackened by Metallica—In my mind still the pinnacle of their song writing. Metal was never better before or after by any band.

Rock On

"The world is a vampire, sent to drain..."

The world is a vampire... Tysm! @Dj_Edurock @crasin2me The Smashing Pumpkins – bullet with butterfly wings

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News

Despite Billy Corgan's recent onstage collapse in Florida, the veteran frontman showed no signs of weakness at his performance Monday night in New York. The Smashing Pumpkins kicked off a five-show series for the 25th Anniversary of Spin Magazine at Terminal 5, which features upcoming nights with the Flaming Lips, the Black Keys, the National and Spiritualized. The high-profile event drew a stylish crowd that included actress/singer Zoe Kravitz, model Jessica Stam and designer Christian Siriano.

The reformed alt-rockers had been playing a string of intimate venues earlier this month, but pulled out all the stops for their sold-out performance at the three-story concert hall. The Pumpkins opened their set with 'Astral Planes' off of their latest offering 'Teargarden by Kaleidyscope,' amid flashing backlights and two giant fans made out of cracked glass. The rest of the show featured ample new material, while classic tracks like 'Today,' 'Cherub Rock' and 'Bullet With Butterfly Wings' instigated mosh pits on the ground floor.

The Smashing Pumpkins frontman was rendered briefly unconscious during a performance of "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" Wednesday night in Tampa, Fla.

The Smashing Pumpkins singer, 43, passed out during a concert in Tampa Bay, Florida this past Thursday. The band was in the middle of performing its hit "Bullet With the Butterfly Wings" when Corgan lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

Some Pumpkins for my bro@Louden & my friend @DJNickPapag, good morning guys! :D

@Ttddman

Some people are tired of talking about LeBron.  I'm not.  I'm afflicted with a continuing compulsion to wonder what went wrong here, which tends to be easier to see as the dust settles in the rear-view mirror.

I'm still working with the same two primary assumptions: That something did in fact go wrong here, and that a big part of that is due to a failure of leadership on the part of those closest to LeBron, including those within the Cavs organization.

As to the latter, we've already seen it in Dan Gilbert's infamous letter by which he copped to "covering up" for LeBron for so long, and giving him "a free pass."  Gilbert essentially admits here that LeBron was never held accountable to anyone or anything other than LeBron, which tells us that we shouldn't be surprised by LeBron's failure to see a bigger picture in deciding to skip out from under the weight of Cleveland's great expectations to go have fun on South Beach.

Now the local press is coming around in copping to handing out the same free pass.  Andy Baskin, formerly of Fox Sports Ohio, now of local ABC affiliate WEWS Channel 5, recently published a remarkable three-page confessional in which he gives the blow-by-blow of seven years of "looking the other way."  The story is the same.  Nobody close to LeBron could act toward him with more regard for anything bigger than how LeBron himself might react.  It's the definition of a leadership vacuum.

There's plenty here even if you don't buy any of the 'personal conduct' rumors.  The God pose on the ten-story billboard and the consistently tone deaf PR that it characterized; The homeboys with the run of the Q and the team's private plane; And probably worst of all, the seven-year front office bullet dance that culminated at a peak with the Antawn Jamison trade.

What if any of it would have gone differently?  What if anyone could have said at any of a number of important times, "LeBron, this really isn't a good look.  We have an organization to run here."  A butterfly flaps its wings, and who knows?  Stand for something or fall for nothing.  It certainly couldn't have ended any worse than it did.

Everything about the way this thing went down suggests that LeBron was badly in need of leadership, and that those in the position to provide it failed to do so.

----------

Related:  Here's a video of Wayne Gretzky's speech on leaving Edmonton for L.A.



Here's a round-up of some of the hot new LeBron t-shirts that have hit the market. "Wade's Pippin" wins first prize here.

Finally, some perspective as to some of what went wrong here (or a call to arms) from our one man Council of Elders, Carl Tassoff, excerpted from his epic rant of Tuesday morning that set the internet ablaze:

Before free agency in pro sports, teams mattered. Teams had identities. Few do anymore. I was talking to a friend’s son in LA about MLB years ago. At the time he was 25 years-old. We were watching a Dodgers game and he didn’t seem too interested. I asked him if he liked the Dodgers. He said he didn’t care. He had some favorite players he followed like Ken Griffey, Jr., but since players moved around so much he found it easier to follow the players he liked rather than the teams they played for. Maybe that’s what James was saying the other day about his “true fans” or “real fans”…

To me, integrity in sports is a player playing the game the right way. Respecting the game, the organization, and the fans that foot the bill. . . .

I wrote a few months ago that the NBA was at a crossroads – it would either go the way of MLB where a few teams have the stars, or it would go the way of the NFL where fans of teams in all cities had hope. I also said that with people in the background like Worldwide Wes (Pluto wrote Sunday that – surprise -- WWW has resurfaced in Miami), the NBA was in danger of imploding as pro boxing did in the 1950’s. Most of you are younger so let me explain:  To the WWII generation, pro boxing and MLB were the two biggest sports. But by the early 1950’s there were boxers taking dives, crooked refs, and promoters behind the scenes orchestrating it all. The public saw the lack of integrity, had enough self-respect to refuse to be played for suckers and started pulling off the sport. People kind of followed other sports, and then the NFL became the big winner as it took off in 1957 with the classic Colts-Giants overtime championship game, leaving pro boxing as a secondary sport which got some blips every now and then when a guy like Ali came along. To the current generation, pro boxing is on the same level as horse racing. Few know anything about it, or care.

Today's NBA is sold by glamorizing its stars.  The NBA wants a star player in every city and the current salary rules were made to ensure that state of affairs, as well as competitive balance. So a Memphis has to overpay to keep a Rudy Gay, but what the heck, he’s their star player and he’s staying. Same with Joe Johnson in Atlanta. But now Wade, James, and Bosh have undermined the system. They took a little less salary to play together, but pretty much get it back with no state taxes. Hmmmm. Got another Florida team in Orlando, and 3 – the Rockets, Mavs and Spurs – in Texas. . . . Now, if failed ambulance chasers like Leon Rose can find loopholes in the NBA bylaws, how long before the world-class lawyers on Mikhail Prokhorov's staff find many more?

. . . The NBA is at a crossroads for sure. And while I like the sport, I have a feeling I’ll soon be following the NBA like I follow MLB today . . .

I hope the Cavs do the right thing and take it down to the studs. And I’m withholding any support for the NBA until I see the new CBA. If the players and their inept/slimeball “teams” rule, then the entire league will continue to be a cross between the WWF and a rap concert (see the Heat welcoming party this past weekend), and I’ll stay away with the rest. . . . 

The owners know this thing is totally out of control. The question is whether or not they do something about it. We’ve seen before that even with multi-million dollar salaries these players live such a high, leveraged lifestyle that when the paycheks stop coming in, they’re in real trouble. I hope the owners make it a sport again. An NHL-type ‘close the season down, we’re serious this time’ lockout is badly needed.

Carl has confirmed his attendance at tonight's Cleveland Sports Blog Night at Canal Park where he's sure to elaborate.  Hope to see you there (email to reserve tickets), otherwise back here tomorrow for some Fotos and who knows what else.

~...You ARE and will be missed by a monster2...~~>@HippyWebb: "TYSM 4 the Awesome Prop Luvn!! :) My Fav Rocker Monster! @rock2monster~

@crasin2me: "Hello Chad! :) @ChadThomas: "Hey Crasin!!! rb@crasin2me: "The Smashing Pumpkins – "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" The world is a vampire!"

@nrayala: "this is seriously one of the coolest song names!!! LOVE IT!"

Songs with videos that have rather dystopian touches, PoW type things like Smashing Pumpkins's song, or some prison-y thing like Tokio Hotel's song? I don't care the type of music, so long as the video's like that.

This video makes me miss the nineties. And Bass Goddess D'arcy.

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News

The latest incarnation of the Smashing Pumpkins, which now features Billy Corgan joined by returning guitarist Jeff Schroeder and new bassist Nicole Fiorentino and 20-year-old drummer Mike Byrne, are hitting the road next week, starting in Cleveland. But the group got a little warm-up show in at Hollywood's very intimate, very packed and very sweaty Viper Room on Wednesday night.

Opening with the new 'Astral Planes,' the Pumpkins's new lineup showed it may be the best since the original version in the '90s made the band icons of the alternative scene. The musical interaction between the four was excellent, breathing new energy into songs like 'Ava Adore,' 'Bullet With Butterfly Wings' and a ferocious 'United States,' as well as a crunching 'Cherub Rock' that had the Viper Room insane. But just as importantly, Corgan seemed to be having a great time with his new band, proving downright amiable at times.

Billy Corgan debuted his leaner, meaner Smashing Pumpkins on Wednesday night, roaring through a scintillating 80 minutes of songs old and new before ending the set nonplussed, a ukulele in his hand.

A ukulele?

Yes. Near the show's end, Corgan took up a four-stringer to play a solo acoustic version of "Love Is the Sweetest Thing." "I've waited a long time to play this thing," he said, strumming the intro while waiting for the chatter from the crowd at West Hollywood's Viper Room to die down.

"They're not gonna be quiet, are they," he said good-naturedly. "The ukulele cannot compete with L.A." Some wiseguy yelled out "Tiptoe Through the Tulips," and Corgan took it in stride, joking, "They say never give your asshole uncle tickets, and there he is."

After somebody else called out "Welcome Back Kotter" and the chatter continued, Corgan cut the song short, saying "I love you all, but I'm too old for this shit." He departed the stage without playing the planned encore of "Freak" and "Today."

It was an odd finish to an otherwise exhilarating performance at the 200-capacity Sunset Strip club. The Pumpkins main man largely refrained from engaging the audience in dialogue (except for a mid-set remembrance of the first time he played the Viper Room, and how chatty the crowd was then) and seemed buoyant and energized on the small stage with his smaller band.

Corgan has said in interviews that this four-piece edition of Pumpkins possess more "controlled fire," and on Wednesday — a warm-up for a 15-date U.S. tour that beings Tuesday in Cleveland — all the pistons were firing.

The frontman and guitarist Jeff Schroeder — who besides Corgan is the only holdover from the Pumpkins' 20th anniversary tour in 2008 — engaged in dueling pyrotechnics on "Ava Adore" and the new "Song for a Son." New bassist Nicole Fiorentino's thick lines stood out in "Ava Adore" and the intro to the metal marvel "United States." And Jimmy Chamberlin's replacement on drums, wunderkind Mike Byrne, was nothing short of wild child all evening.

With the likes of Perry Farrell and Matt Sorum watching from the VIP tables, Corgan was mostly smiles and shredding on this night. He wedged the line "Oh, California, look what you've done to me" into "Owata"; he seemed to delight in the unholy crunch of "Cherub Rock"; and he put more blood in the opening line of "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" than three vampire movies combined.

The new material — the Pumpkins played three of the four songs on the new EP, "Teargarden by Kaleidyscope Vol. 1: Songs for a Sailor" — fit in seamlessly with the old (although "Song for Son" seems better suited to an acoustic guitar), and at one point, during "Perfect," the vibe was so feel-good that the crowd joined in with handclaps.

If only a few of them would have covered some select mouths a few minutes later.

Setlist
1. Astral Planes
2. Ava Adore
3. Hummer
4. As Rome Burns
5. A Song for a Son
6. Bleeding the Orchid
7. Stand Inside Your Love
8. Bullet With Butterfly Wings
9. Widow Wake My Mind
10. Perfect
11. Owata
12. Cherub Rock
13. That's the Way (My Love Is)
14. United States
15. Love Is the Sweetest Thing [cut short]

LOVE this! Check out this amazing cover of the Smashing Pumpkins' classic Tonight, Tonight by Passion Pit (below).

RB luv! @jennskoot: then 1995 happened and suddenly everyone was listening to 'alternative' music. Smashing Pumpkins, Bullet with Butterfly Wings."

@lilbratsie: "Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet With Butterfly Wings"

Its cheesy but yeah 1st tattoo...this song embellishes me

i am a BWBW....for the next 12-ish minutes.

The Twilight Saga's soundtracks have been mostly impressive. You can say what you want about the movies sucking it hardcore (vampires playing baseball, really?), but the soundtracks feature some surprisingly good tracks from bands like Fanfarlo, Band of Horses, Justin Vernon, and Florence and the Machine.

Good indie bands right? Well, that's great, but we think they missed a few.

In fact, we think they missed about 28 songs that could have kicked werewolf ass on the best-selling-OMG!-inducing soundtrack ever.

Read the full 28-song heavy list after the jump...

1. TV on the Radio - "Wolf Like Me"
2. Les Savy Fav - "What Would Wolves Do?"
3. Smashing Pumpkins - "Bullet With Butterfly Wings"
4. Def Leppard - "Love Bites"
5. Concrete Blonde - "Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)"
6. 30 Rock/Tracy Morgan - "Werewolf Bar Mitzvah"
7. Bauhaus - "Bela Lugosi's Dead"
8. The Misfits - "Vampira"
9. Roky Erickson - "Night of the Vampire"



read on

great band @Trent22o

@sarahfromoly check out @Katniss_catnip.. Good taste in tunes!

Despite all my rage im still just a rat in a cage!

@daytonacharger .. and.

@kaydee1005: "Bullet with Butterfly wings – The Smashing Pumpkins"

and what do I get for my pain?

The world is a vampiirrreeeeeee... rb@naapstermaan

G1 - thanks @divadonna5: "TY@Alfea: "'giorno e un buon fine settimana → rb@Quepasa: "The Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet With Butterfly Wings"""

you're teeth don't lie @4Sins: ""The world is a vampire...." TY. rb@DjDiddlesSkittle: "Smashing Pumpkins~"Bullet With Butterfly Wings"""

SIS!! Great to see you. :D My weekend is well underway. Hope your night is good. Some Pumpkins for you since you kind of like them ;) @JanetSEyre