Ooooh Pretty

(Source)

Rumors are spreading of a red iPhone for the upcoming holidays. I likey. Read more about it here.

Spramp Hodgepodge 8

(Source)

• Martha Stewart to stop publishing Blueprint magazine, Reuters via Yahoo! (December 10, 2007)
• Universal Music Group in Web deal with Imeem, Reuters via Yahoo! (December 10, 2007)
• A rare December named storm for the Atlantic: Olga, Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog (December 10, 2007)
• Talking Jesus Action Figure Sells Out At Walmart [Trends], Consumerist (December 10, 2007)
• Design: A Strong Showing in Miami, Business Week (December 10, 2007)
• Host Your Domain with Free Apps [Feature], Lifehacker (December 10, 2007)
• YouTube Shares the Wealth With Everyone. Apply Now, TechCrunch (December 10, 2007)
• Googling The GooglePlex: With More Solar Googlables To Come, Treehugger (December 10, 2007)
• Who should Apple buy?, Art Technica (December 7, 2007)
  

Spramp Hodgepodge 5

"Under" (Source: jcb, 2007)

Once I stopped playing Moola.com this afternoon, I had won $40. Woot woot! And then I was off to dinner with Dr. Paul at the oddly-located upscale-chain restaurant, Palomino. We had a swell time - happy early B-day Doc! I am now officially full but hankering for some decaf coffee. I'm wiped, and yet I have a stack of essays to grade staring at me in the face. What to do? What to do? I think I shall do decaf before I do anything that requires me to think. Enjoy the hodgepodge!

• India Surgery on Many-Limbed Girl, BBC News (November 6, 2007)
• Malaysian Police Raid Gay Sex Party at Gym, Arrest 37 Men, Towleroad (November 6, 2007)
• Get More From Credit Card Rewards [Credit Cards], Lifehacker (November 6, 2007)
• Top 10 Least On-Time Airports, The Consumerist (November 5, 2007)
• Apple Tablet Is Real, On Its Way, CrunchGear (November 6, 2007)
• PayPal is Rude in the Lunch Line, New York Times (November 6, 2007)
• Architect Gehry Sued by MIT, AP (November 6, 2007)
• Anderson Cooper And Jeff Corwin Insanely Homoerotic In HD—But Not In New York [Eco-porn], Gawker (November 5, 2007)
• Rebel, Disgraced, Tries to Pull Off Rebound, New York Times (November 7, 2006)
• NBC Universal's Green Week on TV, Treehugger (November 6, 2007)
  

SNL Spoofs iPhone Ads

I caught this digital short last night and actually laughed. I bet you Steve Jobs loved it! I mean, it's basically free advertising, right? And here I thought NBC hated Apple. Interesting ...


iPhone Ad- SNL (Source)

Spramp Hodgepodge 1

Originally uploaded by Burn-A-Bee

In no particular order, 10 news- and blog-worthy things that caught my attention today. It's a little bit geeky, somewhat artsy, and big gay and fun. Enjoy the hodgepodge...

• What's So Special About Left-Handers?, Seattle Times (November 3, 2007)
• Las Vegas Goes All Out to Attract Gay Travelers, Wall Street Journal (November 2, 2007)
• Imperium: Google's March Towards Becoming America's Biggest Company, TechCrunch (November 1, 2007)
• Consolidate Your Phones with GrandCentral [Screenshot Tour], Lifehacker (November 1, 2007)
• Ireland to Introduce Civil Partnership Legislation, Towleroad (November 1, 2007)
• 25 Best Web Sites, Kiplinger (November 2007)
• Pilots Fell Asleep on Overnight Flight, Rick Seaney (November 2, 2007)
• Invention of the Year: iPhone, Ars Technica (November 1, 2007)
• Sotheby's Surprising Sizzle, Business Week (November 12, 2007)
• An Explosion of Color, in Black and White, New York Magazine (November 1, 2007)
  

Image is courtesy of Burn-a-Bee - check out his photo set "Macros of a Dying Plant," from which I chose the image.

Interesting: Get Hotel Chevalier for FREE

iTunes is currently offering the new West Anderson short film Hotel Chevalier for FREE. The film stars Jason Schartzman and Natalie Portman.

This 13-minute short is a prologue to the feature film The Darjeeling Limited. Consider it the backstory.

Check it:

Interesting: Get Yer Free Songs at Starbucks

Woot woot! Check it out!

From October 2 to November 7 at more than 10,000 U.S. Starbucks locations, customers can receive "Song of the Day" cards redeemable on Apple's iTunes store for a complimentary song hand-selected by Starbucks Entertainment, the company said. (Source)

"Starbucks to give away music as new service starts," Reuters via Yahoo! (September 24, 2007).

Check it:
Starbucks
Apple

Interesting: Movie Rentals Coming to iTunes?

iTunes movie rentals... confirmed?
Originally uploaded by David Watanabe

A David Watanabe (the developer of NewsFire and Xtorrent) recently posted screenshots on FlickR that might suggest iTunes/Apple might be getting ready to enter the movie rental business (see image above). The screenshot is of a list of possible problems that customers can report to iTunes, one being "Did Not Receive Rental Movie." Interesting, interesting. I recently rejoined Netflix, and this news has me wondering if Apple's entry into the rental market might start a pricing war! Wouldn't that be great?

See also:
"Evidence for possible iTunes Store movie rentals found," Ars Technica (September 8, 2007).

Hot iSpramps: the New iPods!

The New iPod Line-Up (Source: Apple)


The New and Fatter iPod Nanos (Source: Apple)


The New iPod Touch (Yummy!) (Source: Apple)
Apple today introduced an interesting and fantastic new line-up of iPods. Highlights include a new and fatter iPod Nano with video and gaming capabilities (w/storage for up to 4G [$149] and 8G [$189]). I'm mostly intrigued and already coveting the new iPod Touch, which looks and acts like the iPhone sans the phone function. I like the Wi-Fi-enabled capabilities. It comes in 8G [$299] and 16G [$399]. I might be saving my pennies to get one!

For more info:
Apple
Apple unveils new iPod touch, "fat" iPod nano at special event, Ars Technica (September 5, 2007).

Interesting: Apple Rumor Mill Keeps Churning

Shazaam! And an iPod Here and an iPod There,
Here an iPod, There an iPod, Everywhere an iPod (Source)
Mark your calendars: September 5th. A "major" event is going to go down - and Apple's doing the droppin'. And it's smelling like a new iPod series ... Will it be a video iPod Nano? An iPod with a Mac OS based on OS X? New colorful iPods? Just in time for back to school season ... smart, Apple! Really smart! Personally, I'm completely satisfied with my iPod shuffle. 1Gig is just fine by me ... My 30Gig iPod is collecting dust in my car, probably dead from exposure - it was too overwhelming for me.

Check it: "Source: Major Apple event on September 5th," Infinite Loop (August 24, 2007)

Woot Woot! M.I.A. Kala Hits iTunes

M.I.A., Kala on iTunes
Kala, the latest fantastic album by M.I.A., has found its way onto iTunes! Included on the iTunes album is a bonus track called "Big Branch," which you can only get if you buy the album (unfortch). Nonetheless, this is exciting news! Of the tracks that I've heard from this album, M.I.A.'s made a solid and rump-shakin' gem! Check it!

Track list of Kala on iTunes

Purchase Kala on iTunes!

The New York Times recently gave M.I.A.'s album a really favorable review.
Read it: An Itinerant Refugee in a Hip-Hop World, New York Times (August 19, 2007)

I've been collecting "Boyz" remixes, and the one put out by the fantastic Palms Out Sounds blog is by far one of the best ones I've heard!

Boyz (Hatchmatik Remix), M.I.A., Kala (Courtesy of Palms Out Sounds Remix Sunday!)

Interesting: My Widgets, My iTunes

Apple My iTunes Widgets Screenshot (Source)
Apple has decided to jump on the widgets' bandwagon (and not the kind that pop up when you hit F12) - I'm talking about the kind that bloggers totally drool over - the kind that you'll see all over the sidebars of blogs (<------- Here ------->) . Apple has released My iTunes Widgets that will let your friends, lovers, and blog readers know what you've purchased, what you love, and what you've reviewed (Note: If you don't use iTunes, this new Apple widget is basically worthless). I have yet to incorporate it onto my site, but expect something soon - so long as I can figure out where in the world to put one in my already crowded sidebar space.

Read also: "Apple introduces My iTunes Widgets," TUAW (August 9, 2007)

Interesting: iMac Nostalgia

iMac Colors Commercial (Source: mattreichling via YouTube)
Remember those wonderful iMacs that brought a lot of color to the end of the last millennium? Remember the addictive and hypnotic commercials with the iMacs spinning like pin-wheels? Sigh ... I do. And part of me wants to grab my blue circa-1999 iMac from my storage room and play with it right now. I don't really know where I'm going with this, only that Business Week has a pretty interesting article of the new iMacs that came out yesterday. The article seems suggest that Steve Jobs is harnessing some nostalgia and the legacy of the original iMac's success in this new incarnation of the iMac and that we all need to trust him.

Read: Apple: Back to the iMac, Business Week (August 8, 2006)

Hot iSpramp: Hello iMac!

the New iMac! (Source: Apple)
I love it, I love it, I love it! It will be mine! It should be yours!

And There You Have It: The New iMac!

New iMacs! (All images provided by: Engadget)

Apple today has announced a new line of iMacs! One word: Yummy! The company has done away with the 17-incher and will sell only 20-inch and 24-inch models (I like mine large, naturally). Aluminum and glass! Sleek! Thin! Affordable! Powerful! And Sexy!

And check out the ultra-thin keyboards:



And the cost:


Excuse me while I wipe up my saliva. Guess what I'm getting soonish? This is a fantastic announcement! Apple continues to impress and live by fantastic designs! YUMMY!

Read the live-blogging by Engadget "Live from Apple's summer Mac product press conference." There were a few other new things, but the new iMac is really all I cared about cuz I'm getting one!

New iMac ... (Fished In!) ... Sigh

Apple's going to make an announcement tomorrow, and rumor about a certain rumor has it that it won't be about a new iMac. Spramp's take about this is: "Boo!" At any rate, perhaps Apple can get some inspiration from this fantastic concept ad.


iMac MultiTouch Concept (Source: maschine999 via YouTube)

Read also:

"Something we won't see tomorrow: iMac Multitouch," The Unofficial Apple Weblog, August 6, 2007

Rumor Has It: A New iMac?

The Rumored iMac (Source: The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
Mark your calendars! August 7th might bring all of us some interesting news, so say the rumors that have been lingering about. TUAW and Engadget have reported that Apple is rumored to update its iMac line, getting rid up the 17-inch and revamping the overall look. TUAW has even posted what the new iMac will look like. Gone is the white, replaced by a brushed metallic finish much like the MacBook Pros. This, of course, bodes well with my decision to purchase one (especially the 24-incher), which I've talked about in previous posts. I much like the idea of a revamped redesign, and if this rumor does have any legs, I might have to wait to get an iMac. Remember, this is just a rumor, and we'll have to wait till August 7 to see if any of this comes true. Mark your calendars!

See also: "Rumor: New iMac on August 7," The Unofficial Apple Weblog (July 19, 2007)

Food ... My Name Is Glutton!

Dinner at Eve w/Mark, Ann Arbor (2007) (PEBL photo)
Looks like things are finally coming along over here. I finally got my laptop back. Even though I was only without it for a day, it felt like ages. AppleCare is a godsend! If you ever decide to purchase a Mac - and I hope you do! - don't be a cheapskate...get it! And go for the 3-year package! I've had my Powerbook for close to 3 years and have gotten the monitor replaced, the hard drive replaced 3 times, and now the optical drive, which have all been covered under AppleCare. You just need it. Period. [The word in the repair shop is that Apple is considering releasing a 12 inch Mac Book Pro. Now this is the second time I've heard this rumor, the first being from my cousin Sean who works for Apple. I'm beginning to think that the rumor might have some credible wings! Shall I wait for it or get that gi-normous 24-inch iMac? Decisions, decisions! ]

[Addendum: Check out Engadget's confirmation that the 12-inch Macbook Pro rumor is indeed floating around: "MacBook Pro 12-inch ultraportable rumor resurfaces," July 11, 2007. I'm sooo intrigued! I hope this rumor comes true!]

So now that I have my laptop back, I'm finally feeling a bit more motivated. I've gotten a lot of my academic crap taken care of. And I feel like I'm in cruise control and now just going with the flow. Last night Mark and I went to one of the better restaurants here in Ann Arbor called Eve. I highly recommend! I'm normally tepid about eating French, but Eve manages to weave flavors together that both satiates and titillates. I like eating away from the hustle-and-bustle of Main Street; and lucky for Eve, it's located in the cute Kerrytown district (the queer enclave of Ann Arbor). Check it out if you are in A2. The prices are a bit high for Ann Arbor, but worth the splurge.


Brunch at Webers Restaurant w/Mark (2007) (PEBL photo)
Because of my blogging hiatus, I forgot to write about brunch at Weber's Restaurant! I love me my Weber's, a classic, old-school, restaurant attached to the Weber's Hotel. If you want a good, home-style, brunch in a classic '50s modernist space (I think it's modernist), then Weber's is for you. I cannot get enough of the corn-beef hash! This past Sunday when Mark and I went, the pianist was playing - I kid you not - all the classic Depeche Mode hits, mixed with a little Erasure and Dead or Alive! Can we say, SPRAMPy?!? I told Mark that I thought the pianist was totally subversive - half the folks in there were totally unaware of his musical choices, but were all clearly enjoying the piano version of "Enjoy of the Silence." That made me laugh out loud! Go to Weber's for brunch!

Dinner tonight is with Sarah. We're doing Thai in Ypsilanti: TupTim! It's been ages since I've had Thai. I can't wait.

Mark and I have been eating fairly well, a bonus really since Ann Arbor is a bit drab in general. Maybe my attitude's just poor. I'm still not thrilled to be here, and probably will never be since I'm now living in Seattle, and well, you know how I feel about Seattle.

Speaking of Seattle, I just received word that I'll be teaching at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle! Yay me!

There's always more forthcoming. xoxo.

Restaurant Locations

• Eve Restaurant, 415 N. 5th Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 734.222.0711
• I had the soft shell crab main course, which was delightful! I love soft-shell crab!
• Try the "Inspired Nacho" appetizers. Yummy!
• Check out the Menu!
• TupTim Thai Cusine, 4896 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI, 734.528.5588
• Weber's Hotel and Restaurant, 3050 Jackson Road, Ann Arbor, MI, 734.665.3636
  

I'm Melting

Finally, a moment to myself, and luckily indoors. I'm not a fan of Michigan summers!

I've been running around my Alma mater all day (the University of Michigan), trying to get as much done here as I can before I head back to the pleasant climate of Seattle. I had lunch with my fantastic friend Sarah at Mr. Greeks on State St.; she's here teaching this summer. We both agreed that it's pretty depressing being back. I just spent the last hour or so walking around central campus with my eyes dilated. Silly doctor forgot to give me those ugly shades to protect my eyes from the bright sun. My eye-sight, by the way, has degraded further. I'm now officially closer to blind ... but on a positive note, I'm back to wearing contacts. A relief really, since summers are no fun if you can't accessorize with sunglasses. Half-blinded by my dilated eyes, I walked into Urban Outfitters on State St. and found myself in the sunglasses section. I'm a big fan of wrap-around sunglasses, which Urbans has many of, but my eyes were hurting so much that I basically grabbed the first pair that looked half-way decent on me. They look a lot like these, but mine are a really slick blue-ish gray:

Black Wrap Sunglasses, $18 (Source: Urban Outfitters)
Yah, they're cute. They'll last me for most of the summer before I inevitably lose them. If you are near an Urban Outfitters' store, you may want to hop inside. The one in Ann Arbor is having a 50% off on top of the already reduced sale prices. I bought a cute pair of skinny jeans for $14, reduced from $29, and that reduced from $50. Not a bad deal. And in full disclosure, I own Urban Outfitters stock (URBN), not that it's been doing well at all this year ... grrr!.

I finally gave up my laptop for repairs. I heart my 12" G4 Powerbook, even its lousy condition. I just couldn't take it anymore and realized that getting it repaired at the University would probably be more efficient than getting it done at a Genius Bar at an Apple Store. So I handed it over to a totally gorgeous man working at the repair place on campus. I hope he does a little snooping on my laptop and clicks on the Spramp bookmark and reads this post (call me!). At any rate, I'm without my baby for at least three days (the most I've ever had to be away from him). Though I did stop by the Computer Showcase at the University and immediately fell in love with the 24" iMac - that sucker is huge! I heart it, and I may wind up lugging it back with me on the plane to Seattle.

Other than that, I'm listening to some new music these days and will post on that later today. It's been a whirlwind of a week, and basically I need to get my ass organized before I can Spramp-on with these posts.

More forthcoming. Stay hydrated!

Hot iSpramp

I almost completely forgot that this sucker is out and proud! It's just absolutely stunning, I really want to cop a feel...is that so bad? Sigh ... Spramps in Ireland will have to wait till the end of the year (so in the mean time, why not just hold each other ... or me?).