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The end of ZaPublished by Sushi on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 10:49 PM.
I recently moved web hosting services and decided to start a fresh blog using Wordpress and combine Za with my personal blog at Xanga. The new blog will be mostly my thoughts, musings, and ideas about design, media, and innovation discovered through my experiences. In the mean time, I will keep this blog in place to keep the links intact, but this will be the last post for Za.
You can subscribe to the the new blog here. Hope to see you on the other side.
Movie Review Prototype for WNYC's The TakeawayPublished by Sushi on Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 11:10 PM.
I'm currently working on a class project in the Stanford d.school trying to redesign the movie review segment on The Takeaway, a new morning radio show on WNYC (NPR). One of our prototypes takes voice reviews from multiple listeners and combines them in a short segment, which we call the Mother of All Reviews (reference to the Mother of All Trailers, something they currently do on the show).
How does that sound? Did it give you a sense of what people think about the movie?
Our goal was to give listeners a "sense" of what people think about the movie. People don't particularly care about one long anonymous review, but the radio medium doesn't allow people to scan reviews like they do on IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes. So if we put together several short reviews, would it give people the "sense" of what the general public think about the movie?
What do you think?
The $13 ramen experiencePublished by Sushi on Friday, March 21, 2008 at 11:37 PM.
Today I had the 極新味 (Kiwami Shin Aji) Ramen (pictured above) at 一風堂 (Ippudo) which cost 1300 yen (roughly US$13).
If that doesn't sound expensive for ramen, it is. A $13 ramen is similar to a $13 burger, except ramen is never sold in hotel restaurants or boutique-y cafes. Ramen is almost exclusively sold in ramen restaurants, and the normal cost is between $5 and $7.
If that sounds too expensive for ramen, it isn't, and you might be eating too much instant noodles.
When I got to the restaurant, as is always the case during lunch time, there was a line. No problem; there was ample seating outside and electric heaters to keep customers warm. As soon as I arrived, a waitress came outside, greeted me, and asked me how many in my party. This made me comfortable in knowing that I'm not being forgotten and my place in line was set. The wait was short, about ten minutes (ramen in Japan is a fast, high turnaround food like sandwiches in the US).
The decor of the restaurant was tastefully done in warm wood and bamboo, modern but not over the top. Jazz was the BGM, slightly better than the normal elevator music and much better than the slightly out of tune TV blaring in the corner. There was a place where you can put your coat and bags, rare for a ramen restaurant in Japan (where space is a premium).
The Kiwami Shin Aji Ramen is their flagship ramen, and only 50 are available everyday. The more common red and white ramen cost around $8, which is still pricey for ramen. When I ordered the ramen, they brought out the place setting with the oversized spoon and an information pamphlet. The pamphlet had instructions on how to eat the ramen deliciously, where they got all the ingredients, and why they made some of the design choices. As I was combing through the pamphlet, the ramen arrived.
Couple minutes later, as I was sipping the noodles and broth, they brought out the rice and nube, which is a gelatinous cube of flavor that can be added to the broth. The delay felt peculiar at first, but in retrospect it makes sense. No one starts with the rice first, and if they brought it out with the ramen, it will go cold before most people touch it. As for the nube, they state explicitly in the pamphlet that they want you to try the ramen with and without the nube.
So how did it taste? Different. It was definitely unlike most other ramen I've had in Japan. It tasted good, but it wasn't spectacular. Is it worth trying? Yes. Is it worth $13? Probably not.
But one thing Ippudo did have down was the ramen experience. From the moment I stepped in the restaurant to the moment I stepped out, everything was well designed. They grok that they aren't just selling ramen, they're selling the ramen experience. You eat with your mouth, your eyes, and your mind. That's why your grandma's apple pie tastes better than the one you can get at IHOP. How good food tastes is not only a function of the food itself, but the atmosphere and the service.
Apple understands that they are selling a personal computer experience. That's why their computer doesn't come bundled with crapware and in fourteen separate hard to open boxes. They don't over segment the market and offer eighteen different products confusing potential customers.
Companies that can design experiences will survive over the companies that design products. That's why Ippudo can charge $13 for a bowl of ramen and Apple can make a profit in a slim margin consumer electronics industry.
User experience design, it's the hot topic now. What's next?
Labels: experience design, ramen
Inferior IndustryPublished by Sushi on Friday, March 14, 2008 at 4:50 AM.
The New York Times ran an article today describing the booming debt collection industry:
So many people are in so much debt that the government says bill collecting is one of the fastest-growing businesses. By 2016, employment in it is projected to exceed half a million workers, up 23 percent in a decade.
Inferior goods are goods that decrease in demand when consumer income increases. The text book example is long range bus travel (i.e. Greyhound): as people's income increases, they choose to fly (quicker and costlier), hence decreasing the demand for bus travel. Other examples are fast food, frozen dinners, and instant ramen (when did you eat the most instant ramen? college? case in point).
Inferior industries, as I define it, are industries that hire more people when the economy as a whole is declining. The debt collecting industry is a perfect example of this. In Japan, during the late 90s recession, the Pachinko (legalized form of gambling) industry soared, opening parlors everywhere.
I wonder if economists have studied employment across different industries during various economic climates. This would be nice information for those sick and tired of getting fired at every economic downturn. The best bet, however, might be to get a job that is completely independent of the economy, like a university professor.
Labels: economics
1,000 True Fans - Not impossible, but very very difficult (still)Published by Sushi on Sunday, March 9, 2008 at 6:15 PM.
A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can't wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans...It's a great story: with the internet, musicians can support themselves by finding a small handful of True Fans. 1,000 sure sounds like a realistic goal, something most musicians should be able to achieve. But is it? Let's look at the numbers.
Assume conservatively that your True Fans will each spend one day's wages per year in support of what you do. That "one-day-wage" is an average, because of course your truest fans will spend a lot more than that. Let's peg that per diem each True Fan spends at $100 per year. If you have 1,000 fans that sums up to $100,000 per year, which minus some modest expenses, is a living for most folks.
One thousand is a feasible number. You could count to 1,000. If you added one fan a day, it would take only three years. True Fanship is doable.
First, how many True Fanisms are out there? Someone may be a True Fan of five bands, which makes up for those people who aren't True Fans at all, so True Fanism is the more applicable metric in this case. How many True Fans do you know (fits the description above)? I'm not a True Fan of any band, and I know very few people who display that behavior. I'm going to make a very liberal assumption and say that there is one True Fanisms per person in the developed world. If every person in the developed world spent their "one-day-wage" on music, the industry would be much bigger than what it is today, but I'll stick to the assumption for now.
The total population of the OECD countries in 2000 was 1.1 billion people, and that included Turkey whose GDP per capital is one seventh that of the US. If we take that 1.1 billion True Fanisms and split them equally in 1,000 True Fanism chunks, the developed world would be able to support 1.1 million musicians, but you know the world doesn't work like that. The most popular bands (U2, Amy Winehouse, Jay-Z) with major record labels grabs most of the True Fanisms in the world, and the lesser known artists have to fight it out for the small left overs. If 50% of the True Fanisms are available to the musicians you and I haven't heard of, that's a maximum of 550,000 musicians that could make a living. In reality, I'm guessing there are millions of bands that have one or two True Fans, not enough to earn a living, and couple thousand that have captured enough True Fanisms to "make it."
Is 550,000 musicians a lot? MySpace has more than 8 million bands, which I presume is only a handful of all the bands in the world. If there are 16 million musicians, and only 550,000 could possibly make a living, that's a survivability ratio of 3.4%, a dismal figure (It's easier to get into Harvard). In reality, I expect less than .1% of all musicians to be making a living off music, and most of us only see the handful that succeed.
What if those 8 millions bands listed on MySpace actually captured 1,000 True Fanisms and made a living on $100,000 a year? That's 8 billion True Fanisms (more than the population of the world, developed and developing) and $800 billion spent on those musicians, slightly under 2% of the world GDP in 2006.
I agree that now more than ever are the tools in place for creative people to survive off a handful of dedicated fans, but it's far from easy. Sure musicians and artists will be discovered through MySpace and become icons of the post-broadcast era, but for every artist that gets noticed, there are thousands that will never see the light of day (Journalism is riddled with survivorship bias). The music industry is still very competitive, and that hasn't changed with the internet or MySpace.
As for 1,000 True Fans, it's a goal, it's reachable, but it's very very tough. If you're thinking of becoming a musician, you better like music a lot because chances are, you won't be making much money; If you are doing it for the money, you're making a horrible life decision. Go apply to Harvard instead.
Pick your own on-hold musicPublished by Sushi on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 at 5:09 PM.
I'm NOT suggesting another voice menu that allows you to select the music you want to wait on ("press one for reggae, press two for jazz, etc..."). By the time you're ready to wait, you probably navigated through four or five different questions, and the last thing you want to do is answer another one.
Instead, just pick your favorite music when you sign up for your credit card or your bank account. They'll have your phone number, so by using caller ID, they can match the phone call with the account ID and play the right kind of music.
Of course setting up such a system will cost money, and since the call center industry is very cost sensitive (why many are going to India), customer satisfaction is probably not a justifiable cause. Instead, let the music industry pay for it. By knowing someone's musical tastes, you can stream new music from the genre as advertisement. Is the user a fan of R&B? play the newest Amy Winehouse tracks. Alternative? How about the newest White Stripes tunes?
While one could, instead, run a continuous stream of advertisements, that will ultimately irritate the customers and make them more combative (you know the kind) when a person finally picks up on the other side. The best advertisements make people happy as much as it informs them.
Labels: music
Brazilian Fire Door Warning Sign uses Babel FishPublished by Sushi on Sunday, January 6, 2008 at 5:01 PM.
"Mantenha Fechada" translated to "It Keeps Closed" perfectly.
I had to remove the hyphen in "Corta-Fogo" since Babel Fish refused to translate hyphen pairs. This was almost identical, if not for the grammatically correct placement of "s" in "Cuts."
Of course this doesn't prove that the designer used Babel Fish to create that warning sign. However, it does bring out two interesting points:
1. Babel Fish is good enough. While not grammatically correct or professional, the Babel Fish translation did get the point across: "Fire door, keep closed." With Moore's law still keeping pace, I think it's not too long until AI translators can hold it's own against human translators. I'm not saying human translators will be replaced, since they are good at reading mood and knowing context (not to mention providing a "human touch"), but the entire web might become legible using AI translators.
2. If the designer did not use any translation software or service, Babel Fish came close to the human translation. I don't think this is the case, but if no software was used, it's interesting that the computer and human translated the same way.
Labels: translation, travel
Print your own customized newspaperPublished by Sushi on Sunday, December 9, 2007 at 7:05 PM.
I'm not sure if customized newspapers are the solution (I'm more sure of customized travel guides), but there is probably a easier way of accomplishing this. Imagine a web service that will tabulate the top stories from different news sources (online newspapers and blogs) every day and provides a .pdf which you can print (or even prints for you, but that would probably require some kind of software). All you need to do is specify the sources (in my case, Engadget, Gizmodo, BoingBoing, Techdirt, etc.) and print. You could even specify the printing frequency (i.e. once a day, twice a day, etc.), or the target number of pages. There's clearly a business opportunity here for advertisement since by knowing someone's reading habit, you can also provide targeted ads (same for a customized newspaper too).
Labels: book, customization, newspaper, techdirt
Don't put all your pictures on one memory card (or eggs in one basket)Published by Sushi on Friday, December 7, 2007 at 4:12 AM.
It's tempting: buying a 8GB memory card with your digital camera so you can hold 2,500 pictures and never have to worry about switching cards. You can go days, even months without connecting your camera to the computer and show pictures of Christmas parties at Halloween balls. That is, until something goes wrong with your memory card and you lose everything on it. The ability to store 2,500 pictures means you can also lose 2,500 pictures, at once.
That's what happened to me the other day when I was shooting my cousin's wedding (don't these things happen at the worst possible timing?). Two thirds through the reception, my camera gives me a "Card not formatted" error. This was a split second after I took my 250th (roughly) picture of the day. I panicked; here was someone's once in a lifetime (hopefully) event, and I just lost 250 pictures portraying it (for those that don't know me, I used to shoot for a newspaper in college, and still shoot as a hobby). Luckily, besides the 1GB card that died, I also had an old 256MB card which allowed me to keep shooting, albeit conservatively (I once shot 360 pictures in a 2 hour span, and that was on film).
Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. After trying the 1GB card on numerous card readers, I took it to a professional data recovery service, and they were able to salvage all the pictures except eight. They charged by the MegaByte, so recovering a 1GB card cost me about $70, the cost of many GigaBytes of CF cards, but it was worth every penny (or in this case, yen).
Having learned my lesson, I will now go purchase two or three 512MB cards (or 1GB, if the price is no different) and be adamant about changing cards during a shoot. I carry my camera in a camera bag so holding several extra cards is no problem. As for the criminal 1GB card, I will ceremoniously destroy it by driving nails through it. Actually, I'll label it as risky and only use it if all my other cards spontaneously combust and I'm hundred miles from the nearest electronics store.
As for the images above and below, the data recovery service had an interesting side effect of recovering pictures I deleted long time ago. Many of these reappeared, and some of the images were garbled together. None of these pictures are edited in Photoshop. I'm simply uploading them as I found them on the recovery CD. The one on the top is actually a mix of two weddings, one of my college roommate back in December in Kansas City, and my cousin's in Japan two weeks ago. Call it accidental art.
Class mugshots.
For some reason, this guy kept getting resurrected.
Isn't it kind of creepy? It makes me want to take a lot of random photos and and take a hammer to the memory card to see what the recovery service will pull together. Maybe I'll do that with this no longer reliable 1GB card.
Labels: accident, advice, art, digital, photography
Socks for SandalsPublished by Sushi on Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 8:22 PM.
I got this pair of socks at an Onsen Ryokan (Hot Spring Hotel) in Japan. Why does it have a separate slot for your big toe? So you can wear your geta (Japanese sandals) with it!
These socks are called tabi in Japan and they've existed for a very long time. These days, it's used primarily with kimonos (traditional Japanese clothing) though you can usually pick one up in a neighborhood 100 yen store. Another pair I saw once had rubber grip on the sole to prevent slipping (and unintentionally massaged your foot as you walked).
I wonder if these can be sold in the US. I know several people who prefer to wear sandals on a regular basis instead of shoes, but that may be because they don't like wearing socks. What do you think?
And no, I'm not wearing a skirt in that picture. It's a yukata.
Labels: clothes
Which burns more calories, running or walking?Published by Sushi on Saturday, October 27, 2007 at 8:12 AM.
Jumping to the conclusion: You burn more calories running the same distance than walking, but the speed at which you run doesn't matter as much unless you run very fast.
Here is the plot comparing calories consumed walking and running at different speed (click to enlarge):
191 pounds is the average male weight ages 20-74 years, and 164 pounds is the average female weight ages 20-74 years in the US (source). The calorie consumption per minute for each of the running and walker speeds were taken off the Healthstatus.com website (I entered 100 minutes for each activity then divided to get the extra significant digits).
As you can see, you spend more calories running the same distance than walking, but there is no clean correlation between speed and calories spent. In fact, you spend less calories if you walk briskly or too slowly than if you walk at a normal speed. On the other hand, you spend more calories running slowly or running very fast.
The above comparison falls short, however, since each exercise takes different lengths of time. Since the human body consumes calories while resting (or even sleeping), in the above comparison the runners are not given the benefit of finishing early and burning calories after the exercise.
For the following graph, I set the total time to be 150 minutes (how long it takes to walk five miles at 2 mph) and added the resting caloric consumption for exercises that don't take as long (I chose "reading" off the Healthstatus website since resting wasn't available).
As you can see the benefits of running is now further exemplified by adding the extra resting calorie consumption. Nevertheless, there still isn't much benefit in running fast, unless you run very fast. Of course this completely ignores the benefits of extra time which enables you to do things like lifts weights or blog.
In conclusion, lessons learned from this number crunching exercise:
- Run if you can, you burn more calories than walking the same distance.
- Don't worry about running fast, unless you run very fast or you want the extra time for something else.
- Fast walking is counter-intuitively unproductive. Try to step it up to a light jog.
Labels: exercise, health, random calculations
Answers for the Corporate IntranetPublished by Sushi on Thursday, October 25, 2007 at 9:25 AM.
This is where something similar to Yahoo Answers (or the now extinct Google Answers) would work greatly. If you don't know about those two services (and there are other similar services, I just can't remember them) , I highly suggest reading about them. In short, they are places where a community of users can post and answer questions. Different services have different incentive schemes to get people to answer questions; Yahoo works on a point system where you have to answer questions in order to ask them, Google worked on money. Simply, what's needed is a platform where people in the company can ask questions to a broad audience.
Of course the finer implementation details are what makes or breaks this system. How would you provide incentive for people to answer questions? You could make it a company policy for everyone to answer one question a day, or you could make it part of someone's performance. How do you make sure the right questions migrate to the right people? Yahoo and Google both use categories and subcategories. Corporate departments and organizational charts might be a good starting point for questions taxonomy. A powerful search function would also be imperative to prevent the same questions from being asked over and over. Furthermore, a powerful search function combined with an archive would create a new type of knowledge database for the company.
Last but not least, Answers could also be used to increase social interaction amongst employees and raise morale. Wouldn't it be nice to ask everyone's opinion on what the best restaurant around the office is? A new employee could ask where the best neighborhoods to live are (and then subsequent new employees could use that knowledge in the future).
It will take a lot of iterations and experimentations to get this right, but anything is better than what we have now, the blind search for someone that could potentially answer your question (and hoping that he or she is not on vacation).
Make your own Lonely PlanetPublished by Sushi on Tuesday, October 23, 2007 at 11:32 AM.
The simple solution would have been to tear the book and keep the pages I needed, but when the books cost $30+, that can feel very wasteful. Why can't I just make the Lonely Planet with only the information I want?
Wouldn't it be great if you could simply select the countries you wanted on the Lonely Planet website and make your own book? With this you could easily make a customized book for some interesting trips like the overland Morocco to Japan passage.
Now you (sort of) can. I was actually looking for some images to add to this post when I discovered that Lonely Planet is experimenting with a similar idea which they call Pick and Mix. Instead of selecting the chapters you want and ordering a customized book, you can just buy chapters straight from the Lonely Planet website in .pdf format. Although they claim that the files are not "digitally restricted" they do "contain a tool that allows us [Lonely Planet] to track when and where each chapter is opened and printed." I guess Lonely Planet is scared of piracy too (this has a very similar feel to those user data embedded non-DRM tracks from iTunes).
So far they only have the Latin America guides available; I presume they did this to test drive the service and verify that piracy won't hurt their earnings (The European guides are probably their biggest sellers and also the continent where Pick and Mix makes the most sense).
I would still prefer a customized book than .pdf files for the simple reason that professionally bound books are much lighter and tougher than ones you make at home. No one in their right mind is going to be reading the guide off a laptop (and no one in their right mind will be traveling with an e-book reader, yet) so sooner or later the .pdf files have to be printed out. If you do it at home, you would either print one sided or go through the head ache of figuring out how to print double sided, and it would most likely be on 8.5x11in paper which is too big to be portable. The other option would be to take it to Kinko's but that would quickly add to the cost (and the chapters are surprisingly expensive already). For this reason, I don't think Pick and Mix is going to be popular just yet; there is too much inconvenience involved with making a .pdf file practical. However, it's still a good idea and a step in the right direction.
Currently, I also don't think the publication/printing industry is setup to offer customized books at a reasonable cost. From the little I know about book printing, presses are usually set up to produce thousand copies of one thing, and not thousand similar but different book. If the automotive industry can build cars to meet individual requests, I don't see why the publication industry can't. For how much they complain about the internet ruining their market, they need to accept the facts and innovate to work with the internet, not against it.
iPhone waiting costs $34.4 million?Published by Sushi on Friday, June 29, 2007 at 4:14 PM.
My coworkers and I just ran a back-of-the-envelope calculation on the societal cost of all these people waiting for the iPhone:
150 Apple Stores in the US. Approximate, but close. If someone wants to count: Store list.
100 people per Apple Store. While the NY and SF stores are getting all the attention, the Apple Store in Palo Alto has more than 150 people waiting. I actually think this number is conservative.
10,000 AT&T stores in the US (Source). I'm not sure how accurate this figure is (and if it includes authorized resellers who aren't going to be selling any on the first day), but we'll go with it for now.
20 people per AT&T store. It seems like the AT&T stores aren't getting the same love as Apple stores, but 20 feels like a conservative estimate.
8 hours waiting per person. While the "iLoser" decided to sit in line 100 hours before the release, I think most people started first thing in the morning today.
$20/hr per person. This may seem high, but the average salary in the US was $15.54/hr in 2004, and you have to have some financial clout to afford a phone that's going to cost you $2000+ in the next two years. I'm sure the mayor of Philadelphia makes more than that too.
What does it all add up to?
(150 Apple Stores x 100 People/Apple Store + 10,000 AT&T Stores x 20 People/AT&T Store) x 8 hr/person x $20/hr = $34,400,000
So there you have it. $34.4 million in people's waiting time for the iPhone. To be fair though, it seems like some people were actually working while waiting in line with their EVDO cards and laptops (and others were waiting as their jobs).
Nevertheless, we need to come up with a new paradigm for buying release day products so that we don't waste so much time. Any ideas?
Labels: iPhone, random calculations
Age Progression for the massesPublished by Sushi on Thursday, May 3, 2007 at 12:34 AM.
Phojoe will take any picture, and for $199, manipulate it to whatever age you want. I didn't really see a need for it besides creepy gag gifts at weddings, but apparently plenty of grieving parents order it to see what their deceased sons and daughters would have looked like. One of the customer quotes:
"...I'm 78 and would like to see what my son would have looked like before I die. He was 2 when he was killed and would now be in his 30's...Wow, When I first saw the photo you did, I was floored, it was just shocking as if I was looking at the real thing. A tingle went through my spine. You really captured my son."
Would you ever get one?
Labels: photography, service
2-on-1 BasketballPublished by Sushi on Monday, April 23, 2007 at 10:39 PM.
Two people are always on offense.
- When the offense scores, both players score a point and the scorer switches with the defender.
- When the defender gains possession of the ball, he/she scores a point; ball goes back to the offense at the top of the arc.
- Play until a preset score limit, win by two.
Simple isn't it? If the players are good, the game might lean towards offense too much, at which point, you could raise the points given to the defense. I'm not very good, so when we play, this works out pretty well.
Labels: sports
Artifact DesignPublished by Sushi on at 8:43 AM.
Sakurasaku Glasses
These glasses are shaped in such a way that when the condensed water drips down the side and wets the table, it leaves an imprint of a cherry blossom. Such a simple and elegant solution, I wonder why more people don't do it.
"Stain is a set of a teacups designed to improve through use."
By artist Bethan Wood, these teacups stain at an uneven pace so that some parts of the cup turn brown more quickly than other parts. The end result is a beautiful design demonstrating how products can age gracefully too.
Labels: artifact design
Small Ideas Round UpPublished by Sushi on Saturday, April 21, 2007 at 12:36 PM.
Paper in Pen
You know all those situations when you have a pen but no paper (and your hand quickly becomes paper)? Or when you have paper but no pen? Well, now you can lose both at the same time. Interesting idea, if only pens didn't last forever and the roll of paper probably will run out in a week.
Product Page (via geekologie via Gizmodo)
Magnetic Clothes Hangers
Elegant alternative to the hook but it's tough when all houses are built with closet poles and hook hangars are
dime dollar a dozen.
Designer Site (via Freshome via Gizmodo)
Lego Sofa for all those awkwardly shaped New York apartments
It… just… doesn't… look… comfortable…
No MadeDesign (via Notcot via Spluch via Gizmodo)
Book Pillow, or Boollow
The modern day camouflage, a pillow in the shape of a book.
Product Page (via Nerd Approved via The Uber-Review via Gizmodo)
Labels: redesign
The Magic PenPublished by Sushi on Thursday, April 19, 2007 at 10:28 PM.
Inevitably, sticky-notes start to pile up, and I have nightmares of drowning in the trade mark 3M yellow... Ok, I kid. The stickies do start to collect though, with very low grade "I'll get to it some day" task littered throughout the wall. While I know which stickies have been chillin' for a while, I wish there was an easily visually noticeable way.
What if you had a pen that drew lines that changed color over time? Logarithmic would probably make more sense:
In 24 hours, the color changes from black to blue
In 10 days, the color changes from blue to green
In 100 days, the color changes from green to red
You could instantaneously tell when something was written, and my desk space would have a hint of color to break away from monotone cubicle.
(note, the picture is not my office)
Labels: office
Drop or raise prices on Saint Patrick's Day?Published by Sushi on Wednesday, April 18, 2007 at 1:59 AM.
Raising the prices is a perfectly sensible business decision since chances are, your bar would be overwhelmed with customers cherishing one of the few (and possibly the only) drinking festivities. People will be drinking beer faster than the keg can flow, and you'll probably be making twice what you make on an average night. Good business decision right?
Let's look at this the other way around. What if you consider Saint Patrick's Day to be an opportunity to not make money, but serve more new customers? It's the perfect opportunity to grow your customer base. Instead of overcharging everyone for drinks, which everyone expects, surprise them by having good specials and bringing in the best DJ in town. Make your bar the cheap and happening place on St. Patrick's Day, and you will be sure to have converted some new comers into regular patrons. Sure you won't make as much money on that day, but you just increased your income for the rest of the year.
Sometimes the best business decisions aren't measured by the most obvious parameters or aren't measurable at all, but don't try to make money, try to make customers and the money will follow.
Labels: business


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Chicken and Carrot Baby Food Recipe
OnSugar Blog: Chicken & Carrot Porridge Baby Recipe Plus Storage Solutions!
Lots of moms like to think out loud, and CherylDee is one of them. Here is one of the latest posts to her Lipsticks to Baby Bottles blog.
This is probably one of Kiara's favourite dishes, and I believe many Asian kids, too! It's easy peasy to make and tastes delish!
What you'll need:
- Minced chicken
- Diced carrots
- Rice (brown rice if you want a healthier choice)
- Bovril (optional)
- Garlic (optional)
- Chicken stock (optional)
For all the items that I stated as optional, it's really up to you which you would prefer. Some would rather skip Bovril and garlic and just use chicken stock, whereas some would do the opposite. So that part is really up to you and depends on how you would like your baby's food to be. I personally have used all three methods, and Kiara likes them all the same.
Step one: Add rice and carrots to a pot of boiling water (or boiling chicken stock). You can add finely chopped garlic if you would prefer to add more flavor to the dish.
Step two: I let this simmer in for about 15 to 20 minutes until the carrots are softer. Plus the rice takes a while to cook, too! Once done, add your minced chicken, which cooks quite fast since it's itty-bitty pieces.
Keep reading to see the rest of the recipe.
I don't know why the chicken tends to clump up when it cooks so I always find myself mashing it into smaller pieces, especially since Kiara has now learned how to spit it out if she thinks it's too big for her to chew.
Step three: Next I added in some chicken Bovril, which i must say, is so delish! I grew up with Bovril in my porridge, and hence why I introduced it to Kiara, too. Not everyone likes the taste, but between the original flavor and the new chicken version, I love the chicken! I sometimes add it to my soups to make them more delicious. Note: Bovril is rich in flavor, and you only need the tiniest amount for your dish, so be careful and add it bit by bit till you like the way it is. It can be quite salty if you put in too much, but should that happen, add water. That always does the trick for me. Then continue to simmer, and it will slowly thicken up again.
Step four: As a finishing touch, I blend it with my hand processor to smooth it out. Depending on the age of your child, you can decide how pureed you would like it.
Once that is done, you're ready to serve! (Or dish it. Wait a good 10 minutes for it to cool down or it will be too hot for bubs to eat!) I sometimes add tofu to the porridge, if I remember to buy some from the supermarket. I love the Chinese silken tofu best. So soft and yummy!
This is a really easy dish to make, and trust me, your bubs is going to love it! Good luck!
Want to see how CherylDee stores her baby food? Keep reading the rest of her post! Want to see more? Start following Lipsticks to Baby Bottles or start your own OnSugar blog. It's easy, it's free, and we just may feature your content on our site!

subset: commoncrawl


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The February 2008 edition of "Shroro " is now online.
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- Dear friends and brethren,
The February 2008 edition of "Shroro - The Syriac Orthodox Christian
digest" http://www.socdigest.org is now online.
Your dedication to the faith has given birth to Shroro, and your love
and interest has made the tremendous growth in this magazine leading
to its immediate success.
We ask that you pray for us, so that we may better serve ourcommunity's
interests in coming years.
Shroro Editorial Board
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Underline iOS Release Announcement
We are pleased to announce that Underline is coming to iOS this Thursday 13th December. Following on from its launch on PlayStation Mobile in October it will now also be available on iPhones and iPod Touch, with iPad support coming early in 2013.
Underline is a fast-paced, addictive word game bringing elements of a variety of classic games together. As the letters drop from the top of the screen you must find and draw words in the grid making sure to not let a column fill up! You are rewarded for speed and skill with special multipliers and bonuses. These special tiles can clear rows, act as a 'blank' letter, or multiply your score as you compete to top the leaderboard. Use the coins you earn in-game to buy a variety of weapons which clear the grid, shuffle the tiles, give you a head start or even freeze time.
Gameplay is split over a number of modes:
Classic - letters will constantly drop from the top of the screen getting faster the longer you last and the better you play. Earn multipliers and bonus tiles to clear the board with bonus chains and earn higher scores.
Time Attack - this is like Classic mode but with a twist, the clock is always ticking and you must try and keep it topped up by playing words; the longer the word the more time added to your clock. How long will you last?
Wordsearch- in this mode you start with a solid grid of letters and you have two minutes to find as many words as possible, each time you remove a word it will be replaced with fresh letters.
Pass N Play – In this mode take on a friend and see who ends up running out of time first in this multiplayer version of Time Attack mode.
With over 25 Game Center achievements, multiple leaderboards to compete with your friends, four different game modes and a choice of 6 weapons; Underline really is the word game to keep you entertained over Christmas and into 2013 and even better its free!!
If you would like to know anything more contact me at: firstname.lastname@example.com
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If the Knicks never made the Eddy Curry Trade did we have a chance at getting two of these 4 players: 7.0 Andrea Bargnani, 6.11 LaMarcus Aldridge, 7.0 Greg Oden, and 6.9 Keven Durant, to go along with Frye, Lee, Nate, and Balkman?
Would the Bad play of using just Jerome James as our Starting Center make us a Lottery Team for two straight seasons to have an upcomming young Frontcourt line with the young Players above?
Would we be building a Future Winning Team with those players?


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In Comic Shops 1/23/2013: Masks #3
Jan 23, 2013
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
(W) Chris Roberson
(A) Dennis Calero
(CA) Alex Ross & Various
With criminals and corrupt politicians in power, the masked vigilantes are on the run.
The Spider ventures to Albany to investigate the newly elected governor who has signed all of the unjust measures into law, while Green Hornet seeks to find the secret masters of the Justice Party.
The Shadow encounters other heroes who have run afoul of the Black Legions, and still more individuals are inspired to don masks and take to the streets in the name of justice.
Item Code: NOV121081 In Shops: 1/23/2013 Price: $3.99
Are you following PREVIEWSWorld on Twitter yet? Follow @PREVIEWSworld


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Andy Jefferson added a comment - 17/Feb/13 04:42 PM - edited
If you're using 3.1 then you use the link for 3.1, as per
the "accessplatform" link you had is a hyperlink to latest (current) codebase (i.e 3.2).
For JPA you enhance a "persistence-unit", so as long as the META-INF/persistence.xml is available in the CLASSPATH (for that unit) with those (test) classes then they will be enhanced. If they aren't then kindly provide a (very simple) example with a test class and pom.xml for comment so we can see what is missing. The enhancer (being a Java process) obviously cares little where the classes are exactly as long as they're in the CLASSPATH
Oliver Gierke added a comment - 17/Feb/13 05:54 PM
Thanks for taking time for this, Andy. I see, I hadn't expected the plain "accessplatform" link to point to 3.2 as it's in milestone releases only (not GA yet), but that clears things up now.
I've set up a sample project at https://github.com/olivergierke/datanucleus-test trying to bootstrap Datanucleus using runtime enhancement both through plain JPA API as well as through Spring's infrastructure. Both fail with the same error message ("Caused by: org.datanucleus.exceptions.NucleusUserException: Found Meta-Data for class de.olivergierke.samples.datanucleus.Person but this class is not enhanced!! Please enhance the class before running DataNucleus.").
Oliver Gierke added a comment - 17/Feb/13 06:08 PM
I think I got to the core of the problem. With Spring 3.1.2 I still had to include CGLib which transitively pulls ASM 3.x into the classpath. This apparently interferes with the Enhancer classes you ship as they apparently depend on ASM 4.x. So at runtime one now sees an IncompatibleClassChangeError that cases the enhancement to break but not the runtime to stop.
Might be worth to keep this around for people also stumbling into this and maybe add a hint to the reference docs?
Thanks for your assistance and sorry for the noise!
Andy Jefferson added a comment - 17/Feb/13 06:35 PM
Thanks Oliver, glad you found the problem, and I'll update the 3.1 docs to include that.
In v3.2 it has ASM 4.x repackaged internally so that specific issue shouldn't happen. Noise is fine if it means things get made better, or easier for people ;-)
Andy Jefferson added a comment - 18/Feb/13 12:13 PM
Online docs for 3.1 now mention about ASM version conflicts


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Back in the mid 90's I was just starting to listen to my own music. I had got to an age where listening to my mum play the Carpenters no longer did it for me and so I needed to discover my own sound. Around that very time Oasis and Blur were battling it out at the top of the charts and Brit Pop ruled the world. I fell in love with Oasis when I heard Supersonic and have always been a fan of them ever since. For many years my favourite album was this one, What's The Story (Morning Glory). This album is packed with classic songs that everyone will know and it's still a great listen today.
The song starts with Hello, maybe not one of their most well known songs but if you have ever seen Oasis open a live set with this song, you will know just how good it can sound. This song is one of my all time favourite Oasis songs and it kicks the album off in great style.
Next up are three simply epic songs. First up the toe tapping Roll With It, so classic Oasis lyrics of how nothing is going to get in there way of world domination. Then of course it's probably the most popular Oasis song ever, Wonderwall Although the chords are extremely simple and the lyrics quite odd, this song just works on so many levels and is pure bliss. Then it's the more commercial 'Don't Look Back In Anger', another song that really put Oasis firmly on the map.
Along with these songs there are other classic that are not as well known such as Hey Now, Morning Glory and Cast No Shadow. These all have their own merit and are very listenable. The other big song on the album is Some Might Say which I think I'm right in saying was the bands first number one single and this is still a fantastic song all these years later.
Back when Oasis were good, they always liked to end their albums with something special and in this case it was Champagne Supernova, another wonderful song that really has stood the test of time. The lyrics are slightly mad but in reality, this is a song that so many people know and love.
Overall this album really is something special. It has a good mix of powerful toe tapping songs and slower chilled out ones. I must have listened to this album around a thousand times and I'm sure I will listen to it again many more times in the future. It really is that good. If you are a fan of a few Oasis songs but have never bought one of their albums, then this is really a very good place to start. What's The Story really is one of the all time classic British albums.
It was the mid 90's and I was about 10 years old. My Dad had a few Oasis singles, notably Roll With It and Don't Look Back in Anger. Then, one day, our house was broken into, and the singles were sadly taken. Part of the insurance gave us back those songs in the form of this album.
Now at 10 years old, I wasn't as aware of music as a real influence on life, certainly not what makes some music great, but this album certainly pathed the way in making me aware. One of my memories that I always think about is taking this album into my room and just leaving it on repeat.
These albums only come around a few times in a decade, and this was one of the 90's greatest. From the moment the first chord crashes out into Hello to the last wave crashes on Champagne Supanova, the powerful music never stops. In fact I would say that potentially every song on the album could have been a single and it comes as no surprise that Some Might Say heralded their first UK number one ahead of Don't Look Back In Anger and Wonderwall which I think made number 2. The album has echoes of those great mid 60's albums by the Beatles in the sense that, they had songs that were as great as their singles, even better in some cases, such as the acoustic, stripped bare sound of Cast No Shadow and the jaw clenching title track, Morning Glory.
The whole feel of the album breeds a confidence, (some might say a cockiness) that characterised the image of Oasis as the band with attitude, and thanks to their subsequent antics around the music, the band didn't disappoint. The songs play through with a matter of fact, urgency which hadn't really been heard before since the great albums of the 60's. I heard some people laugh a little when critics compare Oasis with the Beatles, but I think there is truth to be found in there. Obviously Oasis could never reach the heights of the juggernaut which was the Beatles, the fact that they openly sourced them as one of their heaviest influences gave them a good head start in the song writing game. If you learn from the best, you'll be the best.
Along with the confidence, and no great album aims for one kind of atmosphere, there is also massive sensitivity, namely in tracks such as Cast No Shadow, Champagne Supanova, Hey Now! and the undeniable Wonderwall. I include Hey Now! because the actual music behind the lyrics is so powerful and moving. There is also fun and cheekiness in there too, with the incredibly jolly chord structure and odd ball lyrics of She's Electric, which should have been a single. I could listen to that track forever!!
A lot of people don't like Oasis for their attitude and antics, but I would say that their music does not echo that attitude supremely. I would also say that you're missing out on hearing some very moving, heavily enjoyable music by avoiding Oasis, and especially this album, which actually goes well beyond anyone individual in or around the group of Oasis. To be honest there's probably not too many songs on this album that you won't have heard of, but its good to hear them on their original album.
So if you're feeling like going back to the 90's, but not in a retro, did I really wear that or listen to that? kind of way, this is the album to feel that good nostalgia, when just for a short space of time, British music could write a good tune again. Enjoy!
I'm stepping way out of my comfort zone here. In response to a friend's challenge that I couldn't fairly review an album by a band I didn't like, I'm steeling myself to take the plunge. I'm writing this almost in real-time as I listen to it - call it character building, if you will.
I never had time for Oasis in the 90s when I was supposed to. Maybe it was because I was battered from all angles by them on the radio and the TV and schoolmates who thought they were the best thing since breathing. Now that they've gone away and I haven't heard them in about a decade, maybe I'll find something new.
Oasis had already caught the public eye with their fast-selling debut and tabloid antics, and it seemed as if their feuding with rivals Blur had spurred them on to go one better. 1995's 'What's the Story' is lauded as their finest hour, and it certainly contains a slew of hit singles.
'Hello' is a fairly logical song to start things off. It's pretty much a cover of Gary Glitter's 'Hello Hello' - it thumps along at a fair pace and is reminiscent of 70s glam rock such as Slade. So far, I'm quite surprised as it's pretty catchy without irritating too much.
Things nose-dive pretty quickly. 'Roll With It' starts with a jangly chord progression that is immensely annoying, and then 20 seconds in I remember the first main reason why I never liked Oasis in the first place. This may fly in the face of popular opinion, but:
Liam Gallagher cannot sing.
Everything about his delivery is just horrible. His voice is over-stretched, plosive, hissing and grates with a whining timbre that makes me want to stab the cones in my speakers just to distort it beyond all recognition. He has the attitude of a rock star, but doesn't have the chops to back it up. And while I've tried to keep the views I've formed of the Gallagher brothers' antics out of reviewing this, being thoroughly unlikeable doesn't really come into it. For instance, Axl Rose may come across as just as unpleasant, but at least he didn't need a wheelbarrow to carry a tune like these semi-evolved Mancunians.
Next up is Wonderwall, which sold by the bucketload as a single and will no doubt be familiar to most. But to my ears it just adds further weight to my previous statement - Liam is audibly off key throughout, and I'm beginning to wonder if he's actually tone deaf. Underneath it all is a pretty insipid dirge of a few strummed guitars and a quartet part that is pretty simplistic stuff.
'Don't Look Back In Anger' is better, mainly because it has Noel singing instead. OK, the intro is so similar to 'Imagine' that I had to do a double take. Playing them side-by-side, it is rather bare-faced, and it's not the first hint of plagiarism that creeps through.
'Hey Now' sounds like it's going to be OK, with a bit of a groove picking up, but then it's ruined by Liam's vocals. Again. I can't help but think that this album would sound much better as a Noel Gallagher solo record. Tellingly, the parts I find most enjoyable are the ones which are derided as fillers, namely the unnamed ones, also known as 'Swamp Song' 1 and 2, which bridge the tracks with some wailing harmonica work and watery sound effects.
'Some Might Say' echoes more 70s glam, sounding like T. Rex or Slade before slumping into a boring dirge without the hypnotic effect. 'Cast No Shadow' starts identically to 'Wonderwall', with the same few strummed chords and then the drum fill from 'Don't Look Back In Anger'. I'm getting a sense of deja vu here. 'She's Electric' jangles along, and is probably the strongest track here, as its lyrics are quite witty and tell the tale of a bad boy playing the field with the girls of his choice. And for once Liam manages to stay within his limited range and not take his voice beyond the edge of plasticity. Unfortunately, it doesn't last to 'Morning Glory' and whatever grit might be in there is wrecked by his horrid voice returning to the fore.
OK, no more ranting about Liam's voice. I promise.
'Champagne Supernova' drags on interminably. With little variation until the end, Noel dumps out a guitar lead that is beyond boring. I find it very hard to be impressed by his playing, having been lauded as a great guitar player. And while it's possible to make great pop songs without being a shredder, it does take more than a handful of chords and a minor pentatonic to come up with something that stands out. He hardly stamps his authoity on the instrument either. I've always thought that the mark of a truly great player is the extra factor that allows the listener to instantly identify the player; one can tell Tony Iommi's guitar work or Tori Amos' piano playing, for instance, from just a few bars. It's remarkable just how unremarkable the music behind it all is.
Oasis must have done something right to shift this album by the truckload. The cynic in me says that it's because it's an amalgam of familiar favourites, from The Beatles, Slade, T. Rex, Gary Glitter and the Stone Roses, all bundled together to be about everything and nothing at the same time. Perhaps that's its appeal - it is in fact so risk-free in its creation that it can find so many safe musical touchstones to identify with. It's also a horribly compressed album, cut so loud it was bound to stand out in packed bars and nightclubs against any other songs in the DJ's setlist. Oasis perhaps had more than anything else, a canny sense of timing. Providing the soundtrack to 'lad' culture that reared its head in the 90s, Oasis' empty-headed swagger matched it perfectly.
In all, I've come away from this disliking them even more. Reading the praise that's been dumped on this band for so long, I'm finding it hard to match what I hear with what I've read about them. Given that they were prone to avoiding modestywhen discussing their own work, this album and its predecessor pale into comparision with American rock releases of the same time. Stood next to 'Nevermind', Pearl Jam's 'Ten', Rage Against the Machine's debut or 'Vulgar Display of Power' by Pantera, they sound neither fresh nor exciting, nor smart nor intimidating.
Something must be said for music that provokes a reaction has much more to it than music that doesn't; however, in this case my reaction was to give the CD back to the charity shop. I'm probably going to have a virtual lynch mob of online Oasis fans coming after me for this review, but I found this album dull and, at times, painful.
One of the biggest selling albums of all time, by one of the most popular British bands in history, containing classic songs you will know and a definitive album of its generation............what more reason do you need to have this as part of your CD collection?
Whatever your opinion of the Gallagher brothers as people, it is undeniable that Oasis have made some of the finest pop music of their generation and this album is generally considered their shining glory. I would say otherwise, if you want an album to see Oasis at their creative best, meaning what they sing about and at their rawest and purest then buy Definitely Maybe, the debut album. That's the album that shows what Oasis stand for and what they are all about. If you want an album showing Oasis at their "commercial" and "popular" heights then go for this! Both are great albums and any self respecting music fan should posses both.
The album contains some of Oasis biggest hits from the singalong anthems of Don't Look Back in Anger and Wonderwall to the indie Disco stables of Roll with it and Shes Electric. Some Might Say is another instant classic and the album ends in epic style with the glorious Beatles - esque Champagne Supernova. Songs everyone will know and people of all ages will love.
Its more than an album, it's a statement of a generation, it's the height of Britpop, its one of Britain's biggest bands at their very best. It will be played for generations and the songs on this album will live long after the band that made them
Essential in every way
Also appears on my Ciao account
Morning Glory is the second album from shameless rip-off merchants Oasis
How nice, they start the album with a greeting. What greets us is slightly worrying these days, a fairly pedestrian glam stomp along with nonsensical lyrical and keeping with the nonce theme the first blatant bit of robbing is from err Gary Glitter. Best skip this eh.
Roll With it
Hyped To death at the time of its release due to the pointless spat with Blur, even made the news. (I bought Country House by the way). Again we get another pointless dirge with lyrics that could have been found on the wall of a mentalist's cell scrawled in his own dirty protest. Never understood why they chose this to go up against Blur.
One song I truly hate and not just because its cack (it was adopted as a terrace anthem at Maine Road during a bad spell). Slightly different flavour of dirge here, a cello is added to this acoustic effort, all it does is slow it down to deaths pace. I'm guessing this is meant to be an uplifting song, to me it just bores the arse off me.
Don't Look Back In Anger
Noel takes over from Liam vocally so it's a slight step up from the previous painful noise. Blatant robbing #2 is from John Lennon for the intro, considering Oasis based their whole career on the overrated Scousers it's not a big shock. Bit more interesting this as we get a piano to distract us from the dirge and utter drivel spewed from Noels mouth.
Hey Now
Gaaa back to slow dirge. Musically this lot are average at best, I find it almost impossible to get excited by the same few chords and rhyming guff. Yet again it's another glam tinged rocker, all power chords with a hint of reverb, theres even a solo thrown in but it seems like it's played in slow motion. Be gone from my ears.
Swamp Song pt1
One of my faves on the album, its 45 seconds, instrumental and a bit bluesy.
Some Might Say
My actual fave on here and possible one of the few Oasis songs that don't make me want to eat my own face out of sheer boredom. Hard to say why I like it , it's an exercise in Oasis-by-numbers therefore its basic musically with its two rhythm guitars, occasional solo and Liam doing that whiney thing he calls singing. Could be because it takes me back to more innocent times.
Cast No Shadow
Hang on is this Wonderwall again? Acoustic guitar- check, string section - check, Liam whining- check ahh we get Noel joining in. This is the Oasis boys trying to be deep warbling on about someone having his soul stolen; if it was Rubber Soul it would have been obvious who robbed it.
She's Electric
Hold on, this isn't a bland soulless mess. An up-tempo little foot tapper that's harmless enough. Kind of like Digsys Dinner from the first album so shameless rip-off #3 themselves.
Morning Glory
A helicopter intro is not what I was expecting, I will hold off on saying they ripped off Platoon. Not too bad this, theres a bit more energy to it and Noel seems like he's bordering on being a musician. Liam however is as annoying as ever although with what he's been given to work with id try and hide the lyrics under a nasal sneering voice too. Bit long this but if you've made it this far chances are you will get through it. "All your dreams are made, when you're chained to the mirror and the razor blade." Profound huh
Swamp Song pt 2
Shorter, more echoed repeat of pt 1, with added water
Champagne Supernova
One of those supposed Oasis anthems, clocking in at over 7 minutes. A bit of a slow burner this, starting off with a light guitar intro with Liam doing his best to croon along with some rubbish about halls and cannon balls. Middle part starts to go a bit prog rock after Noel accidentally puts Dark Side of the Moon on, lyrics are still a joke. This ends up slowing right down and fading out in pointless fashion.
One of the reasons the NME should not exist, the way they hype this and the band up was akin to selling crack to school kids.
If you are a fan of good writing, interesting tunes a bit of meaning look elsewhere. If you like plodding, dated, pointless cack you should be able to pick this up cheap.
(Whats the story) Morning Glory was the hugely successful follow up to Oasis's hit debut album Definitely maybe. The boys picked up where they left off with the last album and did not disappoint the fans in any way.
Like the last album this one kicks off in a typical energetic way with Hello and Roll with and once again we think we will be taken on a whirlwind rollercoaster ride that the last album gave us. However this is where this album is different to the last one. It slows down and a few slower songs are included. This change of tempo leave the album with a more mellow and chilled out feel compared to Definitely maybe. Song such as Wonderwall, some might say and Cast no Shadow are beautiful, as they are pure lyrical genius. However the album does still pack a punch with fast paced songs like She's electric and Morning glory.
Many critics and fans often prefer this Album to the debut album but i cant see why. I do still think that this is a great album. Like the last album each one of the songs is perfect both musically and vocally, I do not think a better collection of songs could have been picked. But it does not feel as raw as the last album. This is just my opinion and it is very hard as they are both top albums and in deserving of there place in the list of best albums ever. Part of the appeal of Oasis is there raw and energetic feel and i just feel that the previous album achieved this better.
Great album and worth a buy as you will love it no matter what music you are into
The day this album was released I had the good fortune of finishing school at noon, I hurried straight home where my sister had procured us both copies, it was one of those moments where you find yourself watching the stereo - I sat on the edge of my bed & gazed at my over-large Sharp stacking system & waited for the intro of Hello to fade in.
The first track may be a Gary Glitter rip-off (more respectable then than it is now), but it isn't half a classic sample of what Oasis were good at, following on Roll With It is one of the worst tracks here & is pure Oasis by numbers. Next come the 2 big hitters - Wonderwall & Don't Look Back In Anger, I vividly recall arguing with my friend over which was the better track, he thought Wonderwall, I still like the latter better.
Some Might Say was something of a leftover from Definitely Maybe, having been released a fair way ahead of this album hitting the shelves, yet it remains another magnificent example of all the excitement Oasis generated between 1994 & 1996, from the clanging guitar opening to it's searing chorus, it's a picture perfect pop song.
Cast No Shadow is among Noel's more underrated compositions, & I've always considered it the equal of Wonderwall, while She's Electric actually had a shelf-life few could have predicted or expected. Champagne Supernova is another gem, comfortable at 7 minutes & soaring as high as any Oasis chorus.
Morning Glory will long be remembered as the high watermark for 90's rock in England, it is a record which symbolises much more than simply the talent or power of Oasis, it signifies an era & a way of life. Without a doubt it isn't perfect, but sometimes a piece of pop culture simply catches the public's imagination, & this is was one of those instances.
This for me is the second best Oasis album, behind Cigarettes and Alcohol, this lacks some of the raw energy of their debut album, but was more popular due to the polished nature of the songs. Released in 1995 this was the bands most popular album.
This is a weak opener which borrows heavily from Gary Glitter, I'm not sure why but it makes me realise how derivative a band Oasis are, it's a decent catchy enough opener but as with all of their music it has been done before by other people.
Roll with it
A classic Oasis tune, great singalong chorus without much real detail to the words, this is a really good tune and one I definitely sing along to whenever I hear it, Liam Gallagher is at his very best on this song as he adds his own personal vocals to this Oasis classic.
I have no idea what a Wonderwall is or how somebody becomes one, but I do know this is a classic song, Liam shines through again on this beautiful acoustic song as his vocals give real substance and feeling to something that when you read it on paper makes no sense at all. An excellent song and one of the albums highlights for me. I'm shocked this never got to Number One, but they were held off the top spot by young Simon Cowell's production of Robson and Jerome.
Don't Look Back in Anger
Another of their greatest songs, Noel takes lead vocals for this thumping anthem which has melancholy and hope in equal measures, this is the sound of a band on top of their game and is one of the best songs Gallagher wrote adding substance to the usual Oasis swagger and it doesn't sound like anybody else except Oasis so for me this is the best song on the album.
Hey Now
This is a horribly gratuitous song which goes nowhere and sounds weak, its filler, pure and simple.
Some Might Say
A chart hit but not one of my favourite songs, it's a bit corny but Liam does his vocals well enough, but it just feels a bit staid and passionless.
Cast no shadow
A nicely gentle song with some nice lyrics but once again its fairly forgettable and the album loses some of its power as the songs get weaker.
She's Electric
This is like one of those silly little songs with crazy lyrics the Beatles made in the late 60's, the lyrics are stupid but it is a charming little song and one I really like, Liam sounds very cool on it.
Morning Glory
Nice song which breathes a bit of life back into the album, its got a good pace, is a storming song and really gets you involved, I like this song and it still sounds fresh now.
Champagne Supernova
A nice tune, it did really well in the charts, its about 3 minutes too long at 7 and a half minutes, but its enjoyable, well produced and a storming tune. It has a catchy chorus, good guitar solos but is just a little too long.
Overall I don't like this as much as Definitely Maybe, although there are consistently better produced and more memorable songs, it lacks a little of the debuts swagger, this album is smart, clinical and probably the album they will be remembered for with only three average songs on it,.
The album is only £3.99 on Amazon and is definitely one of the best British albums of the Nineties, its Oasis at their best, has great songs and very little filler.
Who says Oasis have no talent? Who says they're merely attempting to copy the Beatles? Well, back before they really got on each others nerves and split up (although I swear we've heard that one before...) they produced albums like this. Introducing What's The Story (Morning Glory).
The unbridled success of their debut album, Definitely Maybe, saw Oasis lifted into a position of fame that has only realistically matched by the Arctic Monkeys since when it comes to a debut album. The critics loved it, a band from Manchester had yet again risen to the challenge of becoming the biggest rock band in the UK...and then they had to return to the studio to come up the 'difficult second album'. And how they manged it superbly...
Released in October 1995, it reached number 1 in the album charts and sold 346,000 copies in its first week in the UK alone. The twelve track record (although two tracks are merely less than a minute long and aren't named) became just as big a success for them, if not bigger, than it's predecessor. It saw six singles released - including some of the most iconic Oasis songs...and it turned out even the Americans liked it!
But where to start with the music?! It's impossible to break it down into good versus bad. Tracks such as Roll With It, Wonderwall and Don't Look Back in Anger were all released as singles - Don't Look Back in Anger reaching number 1, and Wonderwall often being rated as the best song of all time to never get to that position...it reached number 2. These three tracks are all within the first four songs of the album, but don't think the quality drops afterwards. The distorted melodies of Roll With It are similar to that found on Definitely Maybe, juxtaposed with the sing-a-long acoustic brilliance of Wonderwall and Brit-pop guitar anthem of Don't Look Back in Anger; these are three very different tracks that compliment each other perfectly.
Further down the album there's the first single from the album; Some Might Say, along with Morning Glory and Champagne Supernova - a seven and a half minute marathon track featuring Paul Weller which rounds the album off brilliantly. One song of note is also Cast No Shadow - a fantastic acoustic number which is easy-listening and as good a calming melody compared to anything the band has ever written.
Now, on my 'research' for this (yes, Wikipedia counts!), musical writer John Harris described the album as having several "musical hand-me-downs"...for example, the piano on Don't Look Back in Anger is similar to Imagine by John Lennon and Morning Glory resembling The One I Love by R.E.M. Whether or not they've been 'copied' or at least replicated is up for argument, but they still sound like brilliant, unique pieces of music to me.
Would I recommend this album? Well, is the Pope catholic? Of course. It's an essential part of any person's music collection if you've ever paid an interest in British guitar music. It defines Brit-pop. It is one of the greatest albums of the 90's, if not all time. It's certainly one of the biggest selling albums of all time. If you haven't got it, join the team and buy it. Trust me...you won't look back in anger...(I'm sorry, that's a terrible pun!)
Whats the story morning golry is the second studio album from the band oasis. It is their most successful album release and also the best in my opinion having hit after hit after hit.
The second song off the album is roll with it. it's a really catchy song and even though I don't think the lyrics are the best of their songs it just got some really well written instruments which make it so catchy, especially the chorus.
Wonder wall is the song that follows, and it is yet another incredible song. Its got a really slow opening with acoustic guitar leading the way and fairly sadly sung lyrics. The lyrics are fantastic though and by the time the song gets to the chorus your already hooked and singing along.
Don't look back in anger follows wonder wall and its another big hit, its got a slow electric kind of relaxing feel to it, its not a sad song really, but just very chilled out. I really like the verses however I think the chorus are just the best in this one especially with the really cool guitar solo intro to them.
Some might say is a song I really like as it's a bit different from the other ones, its faster and more rockier than the others and its more of an upbeat song than most of the songs on this album are as well, but like the others its well written and well recorded as well.
My favourite song off the album though, and I'm sure many other people favourite as well is supernova, its just got a really well written chord sequence that make the lyrics sound great and fit together. And its also got one of the catchiest chorus's I can think off.
1. Hello
2. Roll With It
3. Wonderwall
4. Don't Look Back in Anger
5. Hey Now!
6. Swamp Song, The - (version 1)
7. Some Might Say
8. Cast No Shadow
9. She's Electric
10. Morning Glory
11. Swamp Song, The - (version 2)
12. Champagne Supernova
This album is just fantastic, I'm not even a really big fan of oasis however I do really like and enjoy listening to their songs from time to time and that's because they are actually really good, so it's a bit of a shame they broke up.
This album is a superb follow up to the debut "Definitely Maybe". There are 12 tracks two of which, the untitled songs 6 and 11, are really subtracks which either link the songs either side or lead in to the following track. The running time is, give or take a second, 50 minutes exactly.
It contains four singles that all reached either number 1 or 2 in the UK singles charts and contains probably the band's best work alongside the aforementioned debut album.
People will probably be more instantaneously familiar with a greater number of tracks on this album than on any of their other albums. I would say this album cemented Oasis' place as one of the very top acts of the era.
The booklet contains some interesting portrait photos and also the lyrics although they do not appear in track running order, except for the opening and closing tracks which do appear in the anticipated places.
"Hello" is a rousing opening track and a great song. Not sure I would expect an Oasis song to include an excerpt from a Gary Glitter track but it does take a sample from "Hello I'm Back Again".
"Roll With It" is a classic and I don't think there is anything else you need to say about it.
"Wonderwall" is another classic and it is a travesty in my eyes that the Mike Flowers Pops cover version matched the chart position of number 2 of the original version. This is one of the best and most well known tracks of the 90s and contains lyrics that many people can no doubt identify with from some stage in their life. This was a platinum seller and fully deserved to be.
"Don't Look Back In Anger" was the second number 1 single from the album, some achievement in modern times when you consider that it was the fourth and final single to be released.
"Hey Now!" contains some great lyrics, although I'm not sure what they mean.
Next up is the first of the "mini" tracks. It is basically a short sharp rock blues jam before we move on to "Some Might Say", their first number 1 single and an awesome song.
"Cast No Shadow" is slightly more refined but still quality. This is followed by the bouncy singalong "She's Electric". This track shows for me, as on the previous album, the influence of The Beatles with their family life based lyrics, telling the tale of a cousin with "one in the oven" although Liam laments "but it's nothing to do with me"!
The title track is next and lives up to the quality of the previous tracks. It features what sounds like a police helicopter and screaming guitars to open with.
What then follows is a mini jam turning into the sound of waves lapping against either a boat or the seashore. This blends into the opening of the final track "Champagne Supernova". I love this song. It might last seven and a half minutes but I never get tired of hearing it. Whether it is anything to do with Paul Weller being on lead guitar, I'm not sure. It is a song that is still played on a regular basis towards the end of the evening in many bars and clubs, due to it's popularity. Not many non-single tracks can say that.
I would highly recommend this album to anyone who does not yet own it. It's a classic.
We've all heard the sayings about 'difficult second album' or 'difficult third album'. But how do you follow an album which has been one of the fastest selling debuts of all time, and confirmed you as the heir apparent to The Beatles? Well, if you're Oasis, quite simply it seems!
"(What's The Story) Morning Glory?" is another wonderful piece of work. Released in 1995, and again it sold in colossal quantities. It came out at the very peak of Britpop and at a time when Blur and Oasis were slugging it out in the charts to be crowned Kings of Britpop - of course, it has always been disputed that Oasis were not Britpop or an Indie band, that they were a proper rock and roll band. There is some truth to the argument, but I tend to think of Britpop as an era, not a type of music.
A softer album than their first, and gorgeously produced, it still retains an indefinable quality which makes Oasis stand head and shoulders over their contemporaries. They still know how to rock, they still know how to make you weep, but what binds all of their songs together is the feel good factor. This isn't stadium rock in its truest sense, but play this music in a stadium and you will bring people together. Oasis, with this album and their debut, made anthems that would define a generation.
Their influences are just as keenly prominent here, perhaps even more so than on their debut album. The tracklisting is as follows:
1) Hello
2) Roll With It
3) Wonderwall
4) Don't Look Back in Anger
5) Hey Now!
7) Some Might Say
8) Cast No Shadow
9) She's Electric
10) Morning Glory
12) Champagne Supernova
Tracks 6 and 11 are untitled as they are instrumental interludes.
"Hello" is the perfect opener. In spite of it having Gary Glitter influences, it does the same job that "Rock 'n' Roll Star" did on "Definitely Maybe" - it sets the mood brilliantly. Upbeat, melodic and with a great refrain towards the end, Liam's vocals have developed, grown more mature, more soulful. The production also sounds more sonic, and is I suppose a symptom of their success.
"Roll With It" is classic pop. Lyrically and musically it is not the most inspired thing I've ever heard, but it should have beaten Blur to the Number One spot in their infamous chart battle. A great example of what Oasis do best - make great sing-a-longs, rock songs you can dance to. It may be generic at times, but they do it so well.
What is there to say about "Wonderwall" that hasn't already been said? We are talking about one of the greatest songs of all time here. A lovely combination of chords, beautiful acoustic playing and a lean and tender vocal by Liam. It is the song that defines them. It is romance, confidence and talent in just under four and a half minutes.
The same could be said of "Don't Look Back In Anger", the first time that Noel has taken the lead vocals from Liam and boy does he put in a great performance. The piano at the start has shades of "Imagine" by John Lennon, and another brilliant guitar riff. After a storming opening two songs, "Wonderwall" and "Don't Look Back in Anger" take that energy and turn on the charm. They are out and out ballads, but that doesn't take anything away from the bands attitude. It just shows off what they can do.
"Hey Now" is a bit of a breather. A mid paced song, the heaviest guitars yet, and with the most insecure lyric I've ever heard in an Oasis song:
'And time as it stands
Won't be held in my hands
Or living inside of my skin
And as it fell from the sky
I asked myself why
Can I never let anyone in?'
Track 6 is an instrumental clip from "The Swamp Song" the B-Side to "Wonderwall". Great guitar playing, difficult to imagine being able to put words to it. This is followed by what was their first UK Number One "Some Might Say". Another great song, I really am running out of superlatives. Veering between mid and high pace, the lyrics are beautiful and the guitars rich. A great one to jump up and down to at gigs.
"Cast No Shadow" is a lovely ballad, with some beautiful backing vocals and some of the best lyrics Noel has ever written. It is not quite in the same bracket as "Wonderwall" but it is a firm fan favourite. This is followed by "She's Electric" which is the equivalent to "Digsy's Dinner" from the first album. Jaunty, tongue in cheek lyrics, it serves no purpose other than to fill a gap before the roaring, soaring beast that is the title track. "Morning Glory" should have been a single in my opinion and is often a notable from their live shows. Sonic rock and roll, so much energy. We have a brief reprise of "The Swamp Song" again at track 11 before the epic "Champagne Supernova" closes proceedings. Their first attempt at a long closing song (there would be other, less successful attempts), it is a defining moment in their history. The last song on the album, it represents to me the last moment that Oasis were truly great, without any baggage or super celebrity fame. Building and building to a chaotic conclusion, it is a ballad on one hand and a snarling beast on the other. Beautiful.
Debate rages as to whether this is a better album than "Definitely Maybe". For me, it's too close to call. Both albums reveal different aspects of Oasis in their own ways, but are unified by a feel good movement. For me, they are the defining moments of the 1990's, and as good as it would get for Oasis. This is another brilliant piece of work.
(What's The Story) Morning Glory is Oasis' second album following up their first Definately Maybe. Following up one of the best albums of all time is a very difficult task, but this album does not disappoint. The album contains 12 songs, 2 of them being little musical follow ons leading into the next song. I can't remember the last time i bought an album where every song was quality. Definately Maybe may be the best Oasis album in my eyes although it has 1 or 2 bad songs, but this album doesn't have any bad songs however some of the songs aren't quite up to the standard to some of those on Definately Maybe. The songs and my ratings are as follows:
1 - Hello - Hello indeed, it's great to have Oasis back and they've started this album in style. The song begins to the music of Wonderwall but soon changes into its own truly unique Oasis classic. A great song and a good start to the album. 8/10
2 - Roll With It - Not to everybody's taste, but every true Oasis fan has got to love this song. A very lively song with very simple yet good lyrics. This song has a well deserved place on this album. 8/10
3 - Wonderwall - Considered by most Oasis fans as the best song of their's of all time. I don't know if i'd go that far as mi prefer the likes of Supersonic and Slide Away better. Nevertheless, this is a very very good intelligent song and undoubtedly the best on the album. 9.5/10
4 - Don't Look Back In Anger - Even people who don't like Oasis seem to like this song, it really is another brilliant song and definately one of their classics. Not your typical really lively and loud Oasis song but none-the-less it's fantastic all the same. 9.5/10
5 - Hey Now! - A hard act to follow is Don't Look Back In Anger, but this doesn't show with Hey Now! Its a pretty fast paced lively song that fits perfectly into the album and deserves more recognition than it gets. 8.5/10
6 - Untitled Track - A musical piece that compliments the album nicely and introduces Some Might Say well.
7 - Some Might Say - Wow! The lyrics, the music, the vocals, the song. Such a fantastic unique song that i cannot stop listening to. Up there with the best of Oasis. 9.5/10
8 - Cast No Shadow - A song very unlike Oasis. It's slow and quite meaningful. Some people think it doesn't really belong on this album but I say different. For an album song it's very good. 8/10
9- She's Electric - Unique, original, brilliant lyrics. Another completely different type of Oasis song and in it's own way it is magnificent. One of my favorite's, also up there with the best. 9/10
10 - Morning Glory - This song could and should have done so much better. It's a brilliant song that deserves a lot more recognition and respect. It's quite a typical Oasis song but in no way is that boring. 9/10
11 - Untitled Track - A nice musical piece that slowly leads into the final track perfectly
12 - Champagne Supernova - What a brilliant way to round off a brilliant album. Once again such a unique song with genius lyrics. I can't praise it highly enough. 9.5/10
(What's The Story) Morning Glory confirmed Oasis' standing in the tables of rock greats. Whereas Definitely Maybe was filled with a raw, action-packed sound, Morning Glory is an overall more complete album, with each and every song adding something unique and different to the album. Definitely Maybe had some cracking songs, but Morning Glory is more complete and consistent as an album.
Hello is a great opening song. It is fast and powerful, and whilst the lyrics are somewhat meaningless, they're clever at the same time. Rock 'n' Roll Star is a more everlasting opening track, but Hello provides Oasis with a great opening that's fun to sing and listen to.
Roll With It is the song that famously did battle with Blur's "Country House" during the Battle of Britpop. For me, it's not one of the strongest on the album, and it's probably their weakest single out of the four that they released. It's another fast song and the opening lyrics are probably the best in the song. It's also another that's great to sing to.
Everyone has heard of Wonderwall. Whether it's at a karaoke or on a radio station, everyone has heard Wonderwall being played somewhere. It's not Oasis' finest track and it is probably overrated, but nonetheless, this is a deep meaningful song. It's probably the song I sung most when I was a young child; It means a lot to a lot of people.
Don't Look Back In Anger is, for me, the strongest song on the album, marginally beating Champagne Supernova. A terrific piano opening (although clearly copied from Lennon's "Imagine" and some very nice guitar playing make this another Oasis classic, one that most people will have heard of at some point. Noel sings this song beautifully and is a song that is chanted by Oasis fans, football fans or people at home. A truly great song.
Hey Now is a song that is often unfairly slated by many. It drags on a bit and has a "stop-start" feel to it, but its got a good tune and some quite clever lyrics.
Some Might Say is the bands first Number One, and it is definitely traditional Oasis. It's a deserving lead single that can stay in your mind for many days. I think the song is about staying positive, despite what your friends or the weather is doing. Either way, great lyrics and a nice tune.
Cast No Shadow is a slow song, but it has a beautiful tune to it, with a meaningful chorus as well ("As he faced the sun he cast no shadow"). It's a relaxing and soothing song and its hard not to like it. Liam's vocals are as good as ever as well.
She's Electric is the Digsy's Dinner of the album. That's not a criticism, it just means the lyrics are fun and meaningless "She's got a brother, we don't get on with one another. But I quite fancy her mother, and I think that she likes me". I think the song is about getting along with people, but regardless of what it means, it's very fun to sing along to.
Morning Glory is a loud, confident song, and definitely one of the better ones on the album. Helicopters and radio noises at the start of the song, shortly followed by Liam's belting lyrics make this song very strong. Like Columbia from Definitely Maybe, this is also best played loud.
Champagne Supernova, a beautiful, world famous song. This is the most epic of all Oasis songs. It's over seven minutes long, starting off slowly, building up with beautiful lyrics and watery noises. It reaches its peak and then slows back down. The lyrics are very meaningful and clever, and this song ranks amongst the very best that Oasis have done.
This is the most complete Oasis album, and almost all of these songs could've made fantastic singles. Morning Glory and Champagne Supernova are two very, very fine tracks. But they're not singles. Why? Think about what they would have to replace if they were to become singles. There is quality in every second of this album.
When was the last time you bought an album where every track was amazing? I am not sure when I did, modern bands certainly don't put out albums of this standard any more.
Back in 1995, a group of Manchester lads made an album that was just that. Led by brothers Noel and Liam, Oasis released the album '(What's The Story) Morning Glory' and restored pride in the nation, when everyone was listening to the likes of overseas punk/grunge artists, Noel Gallagher and Oasis got the nation singing again. Few predicted the success that Oasis got with Definitely Maybe a year prior to Morning Glory and Oasis now had the job off improving on their debut, yet improving on it at the same time. Not an easy challenge, but they did it - and in style.
1) Hello - The intro has a little clip from Wonderwall (the band predicting the success of the song before it had been released), then the song explodes into loud guitars and Liams voice comes in, more mature than it was in DM with more sneer and attitude than ever before. The song then closes with Liam singing "Hello... Hello.." with Noel in the background singing "It's good to be back". It is an awesome introduction to the album and it is great to have Oasis back. 4/5
2) Roll With It - A nice catchy pop song, with rather vague lyrics. This doesn't matter however, when you are listening to it you understand what the song means, it just... makes sense, A good single, good intro into Wonderwall. 4/5
3) Wonderwall - Ah... Wonderwall, what can be said about this song that hasn't been said? In a poll by Q magazine it was voted the best song of all time, In a poll by the BBC it was voted the greatest British song of all time ahead of the likes of Stairway to Heaven and Bohemian Rhapsody. I don't think it is THAT good, maybe because it has been overplayed so much to me, but the moment I first heard the opening chords, I was blown away, this song got me into Oasis and now they are my favourite band. The fact is that Wonderwall is a truly stunning love song, that became a sing along anthem for the nation. From the famous opening chords to the haunting cellos at the end, this song is near perfection. 5/5
4) Don't Look Back In Anger - Sung by Noel Gallagher, this has Oasis's best chorus ever. "So Sally Can Wait" is shouted out at Oasis gigs up until this very day, and has become something of a national anthem. Don't Look Back In Anger made a nation sing again. 5/5
5) Hey Now! - A Nice little wind down, a slower tempo and cool lyrics. I like this song, it does sort of drag out a bit though, but deserves its place on the album. 4/5
6) Untiled - Splits the album up, sort of like a break for the second half of the album to start. Just a short instrumental.
7) Some Might Say - An amazing song, great guitar work and superb back up vocals from Noel. I can't really describe the brilliance of Some Might Say, you have to listen to it :P 5/5
8) Cast No Shadow - One of the most under rated Oasis songs, Cast No Shadow features perhaps Liam's best vocal performance and well as Noel's finest lyrics. This song is truly special, check out the live version at Maine Road on Youtube as well, it is even better. 5/5
9) She's Electric - Light hearted, fun and catchy this is a great pop song. Sure the lyrics consist of really obvious rhyming techniques, but you can't help but love it. 5/5
10) Morning Glory - Without doubt one of the best rock songs of the nineties. With apocalyptic helicopter noises at the start plus really good chord progression the start is absolutely blistering. "All your dreams are made, when you're chained to the mirror and the razorblade" proclaims Liam as the song burns into overdrive. I can guarantee that you will be blasting this song out on your stereo and singing along as loud as you can. 5/5
11) Untitled - Another instrumental which blends into the final track...
12) Champagne Supernova - This is the moment when Oasis were crowned the world's greaest. Starting off slowing then expanding into a large psychedelic anthem. The solo is amazing. This is a majestic finale to the album. Far better than anything on the radio at the time it was released, far better than anything on the radio at the moment. Absolutely phenomenal song. 5/5
What's the Story Morning Glory is one of the greatest albums ever created, it is my favourite without any doubt. Oasis raised the bar with Definitely Maybe, then obliterated it with Morning Glory.
Disc #1 Tracklisting
1 Hello
2 Roll with It
3 Wonderwall
4 Don't Look Back in Anger
5 Hey Now!
6 Some Might Say
7 Cast No Shadow
8 She's Electric
9 Morning Glory
10 Champagne Supernova


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Seasoned vet Groban sings anthem
Young singer also appeared at 2002 World Series
By Ben Platt / MLB.com
"It was great!" said the Los Angeles native, who had a packed U.S. Cellular Field cheering Saturday night. "The first time I did it [before game 1 of the 2002 World Series in Anaheim], I had never toured before, never had performed before large audiences before, so I was a little nervous. This time I have come off of a 200-city tour, Chicago being one of the greatest audiences I have ever had, and so to be back here in Chicago and to be able to do it for the World Series -- I was a little less nervous and it was nice. I was able to go out there and smell the roses and have fun."
Growing up in Southern California, his first stint in Anaheim was like performing before the home crowd. This time out, the 24-year-old singer said singing in Chicago had a completely different feel.
"It is a little different," said Groban. "But I love baseball so much as a sport -- we'll see when my hometown Dodgers get back to the Series, but in the meantime the White Sox and the Astros are such phenomenal teams, with two terrific managers, who are both such great guys. This is such an incredible honor, it's America's pastime and its incredible to be here for Game 1."
Groban was barely 21 when he performed the anthem the first time. His first CD, "Josh Groban," had just started moving up the record charts. A year later, his second CD, "Closer," became another major success. The singer worked with producer David Foster on the arrangement he used for the anthem.
"I had done that arrangement one other time and it was pretty much the same arrangement that we did the last time and it just works," said Groban. "I feel it every time I go out to perform that track and David Foster is the master at putting that stuff together."
Groban has just completed his tour and will return home to Southern California to complete his third studio CD that will be released sometime in 2006.
Ben Platt is a national correspondent for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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I have just started getting a popup window with the following message
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There are options to update now or Remind me later in a number of days. The popup window will not close with the X in the upper right corner which seems a little strange.
My question, is this a real update from ZoneAlarm that should be applied? If not, what actions, if any, should be taken.


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8 posts
I am working with blinde - sight impaired youngsters in Denmark.
We want to make it easy and fun for them to get help with field recordings and to make SoundQuizzes,
Se / hear: www.soundquiz.dk It´s in Danish - but you can get the idea of what we are doing.
We are making an e-book "Audio guide" for sight impaired users.
We would like to contact anyone interested in this project.
That's a great idea, with a page like that
If i'm interested, what sort of help would i provide? (i'm danish as well )
If you have a 'specific' request in the future you can put it on this forum: http://www.freesound.org/forum/sample-requests/ There is always someone of us reading the forum every day.
We (the klankbeeld - team) have a lot of well described (field-)recording already, and will help you if we can.
Some times it takes a few days, but that is all in the game. If we will record a request we always tell that in the forum. We also tell the expected time to record and upload. Hope it helps.
Al the sounds I have uploaded already are free for 'you stsos' to use for 'your target', without further permission from us now.
Have fun.
Well, let´s talk. What are your interests? I work with Henrik Olsen and we have just done some pilot teaching at IBOS and Synscenter Rafsnæs. Planning to apply for a grant.
Send me an e-mail with your contact info: firstname.lastname@example.com
I´ll get back to you very fast.
I would rather not publish my phonenumber.
Best regards,
Kyster wrote:
That's a great idea, with a page like that
If i'm interested, what sort of help would i provide? (i'm danish as well )
Hello from Denmark, to the interested freesounder. I´m new, so perhaps I didn´t reply in the right place.
stsos wrote .....We are Collecting audio expressions of Danish culture
......a couple of recordings from a Skt.Hans aften you might want to include?
..of course you are welcome to use anything you find! i mostly do nature field-recordings(from Bornholm).
You've got mail
8 posts


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Chisholm actually brought it up on twitter, saying it made sense for both team and i totally agree.
With Lawson getting a huge deal Wilson went from "possible to get traded" to "it's only a matter of time" and i don't think i really need to get into the wing help we need.
Amir could be amnestied later to help obtain a little cap relief.


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