On Wednesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith noted how President Obama was on the campaign trail “in hopes of avoiding a Democratic washout,” but added, “he may be getting some help from Republicans….unintentional help.” Congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes exclaimed: “…we've been seeing a spate of strange claims from tea party candidates in recent weeks.” As supposed evidence of those “strange claims,” Cordes pointed to Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell accurately noting that the phrase “separation of church and state” appears nowhere in the Constitution. Cordes remarked that O'Donnell's comment “actually drew gasps from her audience yesterday,” and later concluded: “O'Donnell – who calls herself a strict constitutionalist – appeared unaware of one of the Constitution's most basic tenets.” read more
Continue reading …There you have it. Shockingly enough , iMovie, iPhoto, and GarageBand have all been modernized sufficiently to merit having their names appended with ’11. iPhoto ’11 is taking the early demo lead in the live event, with hot new slideshow themes . Gee, Steve, you’re building it up nice and slow, huh? There are added Facebook and email sharing enhancements and new full screen modes that make it look a lot like … an iPad app. Gallery: iPhoto ’11 iMovie ’11 will freshen up the audio editing options (finally!) and add “one step effects,” a People Finder that identifies individuals in movie clips, and an apparently effortless movie trailer maker. Intriguing. The audio tweaks include per-segment sound levels adjustments as well as easy fade sliders, there are also additional new audio effects for people to play around with. 24fps video editing and output is now supported, allowing you to export more film-like trailers using the templates thrown into this new software. Good news on the upload front too, as direct sharing to Facebook and Vimeo have also been added. Gallery: iMovie ’11 Apple is adding FlexTime, Groove Matching, more guitar and amp effects, new piano and guitar lessons, and finally a “How Did I Play” feature to GarageBand ’11 . Groove Matching can be summarized with a quote from the Cupertino crew’s Xander Soren: “it’s like an automatic spellchecker for bad rhythm.” As to “How Did I Play,” that’s a mixture of post-play analysis and a Rock Band -like live note monitor, which highlights in green the notes you strike correctly or in red the ones you miss. It works with both the guitar and piano. Gallery: GarageBand ’11 iLife ’11 is available today , as a free extra on new Macs or as a $49 upgrade on differently new Apple machines. Apple announces iLife ’11, $49 upgrade or free with every new Mac, available today originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …And with that, the long (long!) wait is (just) about over. Boxee just announced this morning that its long awaited Boxee Box (you know, the one built by D-Link ) will be shipping out on November 10th for customers who have pre-ordered from Amazon in the United States and Best Buy or Future Shop in Canada. Furthermore, pre-orders taken in Australia / New Zealand and other nations across Europe will start heading out “shortly thereafter.” For those looking to pick one up after the initial rush, it’s expected to start splashing down in retail on November 17th. So, you in? Continue reading Boxee Box shipping November 10th in US and Canada Boxee Box shipping November 10th in US and Canada originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 12:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Istanbul is full of places to grab a quick bite to eat. Photo: Jennifer Hattam . In my early months in Istanbul, I had a Turkish teacher who could not get over the fact that I — an American — was not fat. “But I went to America and everyone was so big!” she would say. “You must exercise every day!” When it came time to learn the conditional tense, the shy young Lebanese boy in our class would get questions like “If you brought home a Turkish girl, what would your mother say?” I would inevitably have to answer … Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …I’m sorry, but these moms are idiots : On Tuesday, a contingent of California moms outlined the parental case for legalizing marijuana. During a press conference early in the day and a later conference call with reporters outside of California, the marijuana moms argued that it is in every child’s best interest for California to legalize the very same drug that schools and parents have religiously dogged since before the creation of first lady Nancy Reagan’s “Drug Abuse Resistance Education” program in the 1980s. “It might be counterintuitive,” said Hanna Dershowitz, an attorney and mother of two, ages seven and five. “I have the conversation [with my kids] every day about how much sugar is appropriate,” she said. “The right thing is to have a reasonable conversation in the context of controlled, regulated marijuana.” A member of the Women’s Marijuana Party, Dershowitz was one of several mothers who said during a conference call with reporters that the state’s punitive reactions to drug possession are not only drastic, but also anti-parent and anti-family. “I am the mother of two sons, both are in their 30s, but once a mom, you’re always advocating for your children and your children’s children,” said Gretchen Burns Bergman, a substance abuse counselor who helps families overcome addiction. In 1990, Bergman’s oldest son was arrested for marijuana possession. That charge, she wrote on the Huffington Post, “led to a decade of cycling in and out of the prison system for non-violent, low-level drug possession charges.” These people are naive if they think legalizing marijuana is going to make California a better place for their children and grandchildren. And if they think millions of new dollars are suddenly going to flow into California coffers, they’re just plain stupid. People who have been selling dope illegally all these years are not suddenly going to run out and get a license and start paying taxes. Just as gun control doesn’t stop crooks of having guns, taxing dope will not cause bad people to suddenly become compliant with the law. If anything the cartels that control most of the pot supply will simply up their illegal shipments into California to meet the demand from idiots who suddenly feel free to smoke dope, even if it’s still illegal under Federal law. These moms ought to have their kids taken away.
Continue reading …The existing bauxite processing facility, photo: Survival International Two months after the Indian government stop plans by UK-based Vedanta Resources to put a bauxite mine on a mountain held sacred by two indigenous tribal groups in Orissa, on the grounds that it would
Continue reading …Photo via MikeBlogs I happen to order stuff online quite a bit. I know — it’s not the greenest thing to do. But when you don’t own a car and you need a desk for your office, it’s just so much easier to pick it out online and it magically appears on your doorstep a few days later (I’ve done the greener version: go to the thrift store, pick out a desk, go rent a truck from Zipcar, navigate crazy city streets to the thrift store and then from the thrift store to my apartment, lug the heavy thing up the stairwell, and go return the truck to the Zipcar l… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …The Democrats'
Continue reading …Pope Benedict XVI names Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington as one of 24 new cardinals, putting his mark on the body that will elect his successor. Wuerl was one of two Americans named as a cardinal. (Oct. 20)
Continue reading …Oh man, the Apple Store is down, guys. Do you think that means Apple might be about to announce or release new products that we can buy with human money? We’re going to camp outside of the Apple HQ and liveblog our experience , just in case something goes down. Our guess is 1PM, were anything to happen. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] The Apple Store is down originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 11:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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