That’s right! We’re back in Japan for this year’s Tokyo Game Show, and obviously we’ll be getting intimate with the closer-to-final PlayStation Vita along with, hopefully, some of its just announced launch titles. While Nintendo’s absent as usual (though it did throw its own party on Tuesday), we’re still expecting some fresh goodies from the Xbox and PlayStation folks that should keep us entertained for awhile, plus we’ll be scanning the show floor for the eccentric peripherals and other odd pieces, so wish us luck. Oh, and be sure to also check out our sister site Joystiq to get your extra dosage of TGS — you know you want it. To follow all the action from TGS, use the tag TGS 2011 . We’re live from the Tokyo Game Show 2011! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 18:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …For analysis of the special election in New York's 9th Congressional District, CNN hosted Hilary Rosen – a former Democrat strategist and interim head of the Human Rights Campaign, a leading LGBT civil rights organization. The network simply listed Rosen as a “CNN political contributor,” failing to disclose her past as a Democratic strategist. Not surprisingly, Rosen downplayed the shock of a Republican victory in the district which had been Democratic since the 1920s, saying “there's too much made of it.” [Video below the break.] Rosen claimed that “it wasn't a particularly liberal Democratic seat” and “this is a district that barely supported President Obama the last time around.” However, Obama won the district by 11 points in 2008 – not a landslide, but not a very close victory either. The 2010 Almanac of American Politics states that the district is “unquestionably a Democratic district, but conservative by New York City standards,” so Rosen's first point may well be valid. Rosen blamed the defeat mainly on the disgrace of former Congressman Anthony Weiner, not the policies of President Obama. As a good Democratic strategist she focused on the effect the loss would have on the morale of Democrats and noted that the White House would have to “pay attention” to the media's reaction and make sure the party was supporting its candidates. The analyst also gushed over rumored Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, who could challenge incumbent Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) for the Massachusetts Senate seat. “Here you have somebody who's sort of the anti-politician in Elizabeth Warren, really just a phenomenal consumer advocate, a professor, perceived to be the kind of nice lady truth-teller who really is smart and accomplished and almost single-handedly brought some of the Wall Street reforms to Washington to encourage them to be enacted – and President Obama embraced them, of course,” gloated Rosen. A transcript of the segment, which aired on September 14 at 12:32 p.m. EDT, is as follows: T.J. HOLMES: Hilary, let's turn to New York and that election. Republican Bob Turner won that special election, a heavily Democratic district here. A Democrat hasn't held this seat – or excuse me – a Democrat has held this seat since the 1920s. So is it a lot going to be made of this? Too much made of this that this is a signal that Obama's in trouble? Or is this really a signal that Obama might be trouble next year? HILARY ROSEN, CNN political contributor: Well, my instinct is that there's too much made of it. First rule is, like, don't tweet pictures of yourself without your underpants because you'll turn all your constituents kerflooey. And they won't know what to do. (Crosstalk) HOLMES: Yeah, that's rule one. ROSEN: You know that was Anthony Weiner's seat. It was a Democratic seat before. And it wasn't a particularly liberal Democratic seat. So I think the Republicans, while they're going to try and make a lot out of this, this is a district that barely supported President Obama the last time around, and you know, not in the sort of maelstrom of kind of political liberal New York. Having said that, the fact that it's an isolated seat, and there will be a lot of media around the Republicans taking charge, you know, the White House is going to have to pay attention to this because members of Congress who are being asked to go out on a limb for the President – we want to get this economy moving, we want to pass the President's jobs bill – you know, they're going to want to make sure that the White House and the Democratic Party has their back. And so if the party can't support their candidates in these races, that's going to give members pause. So, the White House does have to pay attention. HOLMES: And last thing here, is Elizabeth Warren the right person, the person, the best chance for Democrats to unseat Senator Scott Brown in Massachusetts? ROSEN: I love this race. I'm going to be watching it so closely. Here you have somebody who's sort of the anti-politician in Elizabeth Warren, really just a phenomenal consumer advocate, a professor, perceived to be the kind of nice lady truth-teller who really is smart and accomplished and almost single-handedly brought some of the Wall Street reforms to Washington to encourage them to be enacted – and President Obama embraced them, of course – against another kind of anti-politician, Scott Brown, who sort of came out of nowhere, was in the state legislature but not particularly noteworthy. This is going to be sort of a matchup of the Senate, I think. This is the race of the year.
Continue reading …Never shy about trumpeting scoops from the mountaintops, the National Enquirer ‘s latest is, as usual, less than subtle: “WORLD EXCLUSIVE! SARAH PALIN BOMBSHELL BOOK SHOCKING CLAIMS!” Turns out the Enquirer says it has sources with information about Joe McGinniss’ upcoming book on Palin , and they say it reveals that…
Continue reading …Rep. Steve King thinks President Obama’s latest family embarrassment, the boozing Onyango Obama, is getting preferential treatment in his drunk-driving case, so the Iowa Republican wants to give him a little more special attention—in the way of a House hearing. “We have to bring drunken ‘Uncle Omar’ in front…
Continue reading …Covering Gov. Rick Perry's Wednesday morning speech to Liberty University students , Washington Post's Phillip Rucker painted the Texas Republican as “anti-intellectual” for what amounts to a self-deprecating jokes about his grades in college: LYNCHBURG, Va. — Texas Gov. Rick Perry offered himself here Wednesday as a decidedly anti-intellectual candidate, making light of flunking out of some of his classes at Texas A&M University, and instead casting his life and presidential aspirations in deeply spiritual terms. Perry spoke of growing up with modest means in Paint Creek, Tex., of struggling academically in school and, in his late 20s, after he returned home from the Air Force, finding God. As a student at Texas A&M, Perry said, it was “my heart’s content” to be a veterinarian. He worked for a vet every summer and took advanced science classes. But the dean of the veterinary school dashed his dreams. “He said, ‘Son, I’m looking at your transcript. You want to be an animal science major,’” Perry joked. (Indeed, Perry’s transcript shows he received an “F” in organic chemistry, a “D” in veterinary anatomy and a “C” in animal breeding.”) “Four semesters of organic chemistry made a pilot out of me,” Perry joked. As he prepared for Wednesday’s visit, Perry said, “I got my Webster’s out and I just looked up the word ‘convocation’ to make sure I knew what I was walking into here.” The title of the online article is “Perry casts himself as anti-intellectual, says his life shaped by faith.” It remains to be seen if the Post's print edition softens the headline tomorrow to one that's much less loaded.
Continue reading …widetrends says: Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz deny cheating rumors : Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz deny cheating rumors – Alicia Keys … http://t.co/l5jdS29
Continue reading …Is there a more fitting pair than Britney Spears and VH1′s Pop Up Video? We think not. The Pop Princess just barely missed out on VH1′s famed Pop Up Video during its heyday — her first single, “Baby One More Time” debuted in 2003, while the show ended in 2002 — but nearly 10 years
Continue reading …Microsoft has skirted the problem it ran into three years ago, when its preview of Windows 7 was leaked to the general public, by “leaking” Windows 8—which will ultimately power PCs and iPad-rivaling tablets—itself. The preview of the operating system, first aired at a conference yesterday, was posted…
Continue reading …A particularly sad foreclosure story out of Detroit: Texana Hollis has been evicted from her home of the past 58 years … at the age of 101. As if that’s not depressing enough, Hollis and her late husband owned the home outright—but in 2003, Hollis’ son persuaded her to sign…
Continue reading …Free? Yeah, we all like free, but when it comes to streaming music, there’s always a catch. This time it’s a FreePlay “tank,” which lets you stream any of MOG’s 11 million songs from the web without subscription fees — well, at least until that looming gauge hits empty. The system adds a rather unique social media twist, filling tanks to different levels based on virtual interactions. And MOG’s CEO says many users should never hit empty — there are a variety of ways to earn free music, such as “interacting with advertisers in meaningful ways.” Like Spotify , MOG’s ultimate goal is to convert freeloaders to paid subscribers, and forking over $5 (Basic) or $10 (Primo) per month does have its benefits, including hardware integration and mobile access — both of which won’t work with the free version. Now that we have several free streaming options, it ultimately comes down to availability — having access to 11 million tracks could be great, but only if you can play the songs you want to listen to. So, do you MOG? And no, we also have no idea what that means. Continue reading MOG FreePlay brings 11 million songs to the web gratis, makes you work for free tunes MOG FreePlay brings 11 million songs to the web gratis, makes you work for free tunes originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …