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Barak Obama's - nomination acceptance speech Democratic National Convention, Denver, CO

shane@blogmerit.com — 2008-09-01T20:01:18-05:00

BARAK OBAMA'S NOMINATION ACCEPTANCE SPEECH AT THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION, DENVER, CO

Fellow Affiliate Marketers - Does anyone else have issues Linkshare's home page not loading???

shane@blogmerit.com — 2008-09-01T16:14:05-05:00

For a long, long time now, in fact the better part of a year I have been able to log into my affiliate account LinkShare.com but this PHP script that runs their first page after logging in simply will not load. We're on Macintosh computers, all current Intel powered Mac mini, MacBook and MacBook Pro all running the most up to date version of Mac OS X "Leopard". It doesn't matter what web browser we use same outcome, absolutely nothing loads in the page but you can see up in the web browser tab a PHP script is trying to run but it stops or gets stuck every single time.

We've contacted LinkShare.com more times than we care to think about and they keep giving us the standard answers about allowing pop-ups, virus protection and firewalls, etc. None of those things are the problem. It's clearly an issue on their end with regard to us trying to log in to their new website from Mac computers.

I'm tearing my hair out because they manage some top notch companies that I affiliate with for example; Apple's iTunes, Macy's and Sephora just to name a few.
As fellow affiliate marketers know LinkShare manages the affiliate program for a lot of multi-national brand name companies.

I need to know if other's are having this problem or similar issues; please post your specific comments here at my blog and let's try to move this forward, maybe we can get
someone's attention at LinkShare who actually gives a damn about solving this problem instead of handing out pat answers and frankly ignoring very specific issues as laid
out in our emails. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE FELLOW LINKSHARE (MAC) ACCOUNT HOLDERS POST COMMENTS ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCES TO THIS BLOG POST. THANKS.

HERE'S A SCREEN SHOT OF WHAT THE WEB BROWSER "LOOKS LIKE" -- pay attention to the PHP reference in the tab of the web browser window screen shot.

Beijing Olympics 2008 - NBCOLYMPICS.COM VIDEO CHANNEL WIDGET

shane@blogmerit.com — 2008-08-09T19:12:27-05:00

Exclusive Summer Olympics news & widgets at NBC Olympics.com!

TED TALKS: Ted Jordan: Picturing Excess

shane@blogmerit.com — 2008-06-20T16:40:51-05:00

Bravo TV

shane@blogmerit.com — 2008-06-04T22:55:16-05:00

Get Ready for Oscar -- this Sunday!

shane@blogmerit.com — 2008-02-21T18:28:39-06:00

What's Up With That Lump In His Cheek?

shane@blogmerit.com — 2008-02-21T10:04:50-06:00

Republicans get to choose from John McCain or so it appears. Democrats get to choose between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. This will no doubt be a year that will go down in political history. I love the diversity of choice in this U.S. Presidential election and yes, these are times are a long time coming. I think its great but like Bill Mahr said on his HBO show, REAL TIME the other night, its just late but nonetheless diversity of choice is here. Yeah!
Republican Front Runner: John McCain - one of the famous Keating Five - remember the S&L collapse?

Democratic Candidates: who knows here but this voting because Hillary Clinton is a woman or voting for Barack Obama because he's black. What about experience, vision and the ability to execute their vision for our country. I love the diversity of choice I just really want the campaign to be about their visions and plan for America not Rupert Murdoch's list of the women Bill Clinton has allegedly slept with. How is that relevant to Hillary Clinton's ability to govern our country. Rumors of this list have been floating around for awhile now. I heard it the first time on ABC's, THE VIEW which I now enjoy watching since Whoopi Goldberg has become the moderator. Anyway, interesting times for the U.S. Stay tuned.

Hillary Clinton - experienced & qualified but unfortunately not without getting caught in the Republican crosshairs, again.

Barack Obama - I like him but I'm waiting for substance. His speeches ring very hollow to me. His healthcare plan comes across as half-baked or under developed. His speeches smack of inspirational pep rally.

Plus should presidential candidates disclose their health issue? I say, yes. What do you think? Please post a comment here. Thanks.

Cool Building in Dubai where each floor rotates independently of the other. Pretty Cool!

shane@blogmerit.com — 2008-01-19T10:36:25-06:00

I had read about this building a couple months ago and found the concept to be pretty fascinating and now this morning I've just stumbled upon this video via Digg.com. Check it out, each floor plate in the building rotates and if I'm understand the underlying technologies; they're capturing the energy for other uses or to defray energy costs for the building itself. I will try and locate more information and double-back and add it to this post.

Sundance Film Festival -- widget

shane@blogmerit.com — 2008-01-16T23:22:39-06:00

VIDEO WIDGET TEST

shane@blogmerit.com — 2008-01-11T19:24:56-06:00

TED Talks: Do You Turn Off Your Empathy Switch?

shane@blogmerit.com — 2008-01-04T13:36:56-06:00

I just watched this really interesting TED Talks video presentation by Daniel Goleman, author of the best selling book, "Emotional Intelligence" about human empathy and how we turn that part of our brain on and off. Please, take the time to watch this video and ponder the perspective he has applied to this very human instinct. As always another intelligent, thought provoking topic from TED Talks. Click here for more information about the TED 2008 conference. Enjoy the day.

WebHostWorks.com - Domain Name 4 Sale - Great Name for a Website Hosting Business

shane@blogmerit.com — 2008-01-01T17:00:35-06:00

I'm selling WebHostWorks.com and I have it listed at eBay.com -- check out the cool, new eBay ToGo widget displaying real time data right from the actual eBay auction page. Pretty useful widget if you want to market 'live' eBay listing on your blog or website.

Bahamas - part two... I was served the most amazing tea, "Harney & Sons."

shane@blogmerit.com — 2007-12-30T15:15:37-06:00

O.K. safe to say I'll get carried away and ramble due to my on-going love affair with The Bahamas so let me apologize in advance but I hope you'll have as much fun reading my stories as I've had living and writing about them. I'll try not to ramble off hither and yon.

If you really want to elevate your little 3-day jaunts to Atlantis, Paradise Island purchase the Gourmet meal plan and I'll walk you through why. Atlantis has something like 30+ food establishments, I'm not going to be quite so generous and call them all restaurants because they're not. Anyway, with choices like Dune, NOBU, MESA just to name three and breakfast too. We go off resort for our lunches and that way we get to have a non-resort, local experience because we go bonkers for the fresh Conch and the Grouper too. Back to the resort buy the meal plan and then select where you want to eat each night and make your dinner reservations while you're still at home, and make them well in advance. That really is the only way to eat where you want, when you want and on a 3-day whirlwind it's worth it because dinner is more enjoyable that way and special because the choices at Atlantis are so fantastic the only trouble you'll have will be selecting just one! For our latest trip we dined at Bobby Flay's MESA in the new all-suites, The Cove, Atlantis. We also dined at Dune which is up the beach at The One & Only Ocean Club and NOBU.

As I mentioned breakfast is in the meal plan and The Cove has this interesting dining concept called Mosaic which consists of cooking stations where your food is cooked to order. Everything is incredibly, beautiful, well presented and fresh everything from caviar to fresh figs interspersed in and around the cooking stations. All of this beautiful food is being served in a beautiful, elemental space which is about its wood, glass, natural light & stunning water features. The glass walls play a Zen trick of bringing the outdoor garden into the dining spaces so it's this beautiful, organic experience.

Table side the waiter has left for me the most wonderful tea box and in it are teas from Harney & Sons. Well, neither my friend nor I had ever heard of this tea company but the selection and the packaging were just wonderful so I selected the "Paris" blend. Well, when I opened the package which was foil lined I might add it unleashed these aromas one of which was pomegranate all coming from a silk sachet, triangular in shape. Aroma of the tea brewing in my cup along with the beautiful space and food transports you. But then that is part of why we love going to the Atlantis resort, they handle the details and we love Mosaic we ate breakfast there each day. On our third night we were going to have dinner there but tropical storm Noel caused them to close The Cove and move everyone into the Royal Towers so we're lucky that we popped into NOBU earlier in the evening and had sushi in the relaxing lounge at NOBU which is right off the casino floor so from the lounge you can see the flash of the casino through the glass entryway but you're in another world sound-wise. NOBU is another experience which transports you to a very special place where everything that hits your senses seems to open them wider.

Back to the amazing tea; I stopped drinking coffee over a year ago. I'm one of these people who had to have surgery and ever since I've had no interest in drinking coffee, apparently this happens to some people after surgery. I don't miss it in fact, I'm really enjoying drinking hot and cold tea. The selection at Harney & Sons is simply wonderful so much so that we've ordered three times and given one gift of their teas since we've returned the first week of November.

Here's a great clip about The Cove, Atlantis that I found on YouTube:

Got Game? "Super Mario Galaxy" does, its Gamespot.com's 2007 Game of the Year!

shane@blogmerit.com — 2007-12-30T10:10:26-06:00

I'm one of the lucky ones who received "Super Mario Galaxy" as a gift and we've been playing it on our new Wii console with our 50" SONY HD TV so we're playing in 480p. The graphics and color really pop making game play an even richer experience. This latest installment does not disappoint and in fact it really takes advantage of the cool Wii-mote wireless controller which has the motion sensor built into it so it puts you into the game, movement-wise that is. This motion sensing play opens all sorts of doors and I hear exercise games are coming which is brilliant because I've been saying to my friend I'm getting an aerobic workout from all the movement of active Wii game play in "Super Mario Galaxy". I'm not surprised it's Gamespot's 2007 Game of the Year because every aspect of the game; graphics, color, course design, music all of it hit a high note for me. If you love Mario you have to get this game for you Wii and its great for first time players too. Its challenging but easy enough to learn with a little practice which is fun even getting squashed in the game. You'll be laughing and jumping around with your Wii-mote and you won't want to stop. Enjoy your day.

I'm a fan of Mario from years ago my last system was the Nintendo 64. I'm no gamer that's for sure but Super Mario has always been fun and made me laugh the game play is always fun and challenging but its still accessible for new players. Kudos to Nintendo again. Check out the Gamespot.com 2007 Game of the Year video clip:

Get Ready..."Sonic Riders Zero Gravity" lands Jan. 8th. Pre-order yours here!

shane@blogmerit.com — 2007-12-29T12:55:50-06:00

We're enjoying our Nintendo Wii - so far we have the super fun "Super Mario Galaxy" and "Donkey Kong Barrel Blast". I was given both games and I love them. I played Super Mario years ago. While checking out available games for the Wii I found this game coming from SEGA "Sonic Riders Zero Gravity". Watching the SEGA trailer for "Sonic Riders Zero Gravity" this looks like GIANT fun and I want this game. I'm no gamer but I do enjoy the cool features of the Wii, specifically the Wii-mote wireless controller with motion sensors - this takes the whole game experience to a new place, it puts your movement into the game. Cool beans. Sorry, for the poor video quality but I couldn't locate anything better. You can see how much fun this game is going to be.

New Year's Equals Puppies...pedigree Daschund puppies are coming any day now!

shane@blogmerit.com — 2007-12-28T15:20:12-06:00

I hope everyone is still enjoying their holidays, in a manner of speaking since I realize most people are back at work. Anyway, I enjoyed my holidays and I still am. Knocked off a project this morning now I'm back to the blog because I have a lot to talk about.

Puppies, let's talk dogs. In addition to being a writer I'm also a lover of dogs, specifically Dachshunds. Earlier this year I began a very small, in-home breeding program for Piebald and English Cream Dachshunds. I have all types smooth, long hair and wire hair in my family. Two of my Dams are having puppies, Halle Berry first week of January and Kismet the third week of January. I have this wonderful house call vet. who takes care of the Dams, Sires and puppies in my breeding program and Ginger my oldest who receives Acupuncture. My house-call Vet. is Dr. Ana Falk and we just love her. How wonderful to have such a caring, knowledgeable Vet. who practices both Eastern and Western medicine, and she comes to your house! How fantastic is that for me and my pets.

Ginger's hind legs are wobbly and folding under her hind quarters. So, she's receives Acupuncture and it's helped because now she can ambulate her hind legs much better than prior to beginning Acupuncture. Luckily Ginger hasn't had any pain, thank goodness for that. I have experience with the benefits of Acupuncture as Heidi my oldest who is actually Ginger's half sister needed help because vertebrae in her mid-spine had calcified and were pinching her spine, enough to where she lost complete use of her hind legs. I lived in Marina del Rey, CA at the time and I was very lucky because the vet. clinic that I used had a Vet. who practiced Acupuncture and she was one of my the two Vets. that I used already so Heidi knew and trusted her already. By Heidi's fourth treatment she had use of her hind legs again. She needed treatments the rest of her life but just 2 - 4 visits per year. Acupuncture has worked for my Dachshunds -- just a story shared because you never know what the solution can end up looking like as long as you open up your mind. I will never forget what Dr. Mary J. Brandt did for Heidi, and Ginger too. Great Vet. and a wonderful person who took amazing care of my dogs, here's a photo. of her from their website.

Now, back to the puppies. Halle Berry is probably having three and she's a pretty chocolate and tan and the sire, Karma is a Piebald so she could have adorable chocolate, Piebald smooth Dachshund puppies. You never know with the color patterns. I have another website for pets Pets-SOS.com and you can check there and read the blog, or check out the store if you need organic, super premium treats, food and toys for your pets. The store is being re-launched right now so please accept out apologies for any dead links, its all being sorted and will re-launch very soon.

The blog at Pets-SOS will update regarding the puppies with links into the pages for more information about our Dams and Sires. They're such great dogs -- I just love 'em. I'm working on some children's stories with the dogs as the characters. More on that as it happens. I'll blog about Halle Berry and her puppies and as soon as we can we'll take photographs and post them to the blog and website.

Kismet is due to have her puppies the third week of January and both Kismet the Dam and Karma the sire are piebald, smooth Dachshunds so I'm hoping for Piebald; white, black & tan the spots almost look like that black and white cow but with some tan spots too. This is Kismet's second litter and she became very pregnant (heavy and visibly larger where she's carrying the puppies) much earlier than with her first pregnancy so I have a feeling she'll have 5-6 puppies. Stay tuned.

Since I'm talking about my dogs who are family members I want to take a moment and share who I trust to feed my pets. Years ago I used to feed my dogs Eukanuba. Well, since I read the The Wall St. Journal so I knew early on in the news cycle that P&G was buying the IAMS company the company who makes both IAMS and Eukanuba brands. Well, my instincts told me to talk to my vet. at that time because I wanted to switch to a better food for my dogs. At that time I had three Dachshunds, Heidi, Ginger and Samuel Adams -- smooth, long hair & wire hair, respectively. I was told about Natura Pet and their INNOVA and California Natural pet foods. I started them on INNOVA at that time. Never had problems the dogs are getting a healthy, human grade ingredient super premium food. Oh, did I mention that they love their food and I don't having a problem with my dogs eating their food. Below I will provide a list of links for the foods I use and the treats. I also use a little canned food mixed in some filtered tap water, I use Merrick's Thanksgiving Day Dinner and Merrick's Turducken flavors to some water, warm it in the microwave and then use it to moisten each dogs bowl of food. I had to do this for one of the dogs and with multiple dogs the bowls need to be pretty similar or feeding time becomes a game of but his is better because it smells different than my food dish. Anyway, it really some moisture and creates the idea that they're getting the soft food because just like Natura Pet there are vegetable, fruits and chunks of turkey, chicken and duck. The cans of Merrick's actually smell good when you open them and they look great its not ground up. You can see the blueberries, the chicken the carrots whatever the ingredient is. Bottom line with my dogs is they all stand at their dish until they're finished eating and I know from my own research and first-hand experience I'm feeding my dogs safe, high quality, human grade pet foods.

Speaking of treats I use Zuke's natural treats -- Peanut butter Hip Action and chicken mini-Naturals are what I give my dogs. Each day after they've eaten their dinner they get their Hip Action and that's because its good for them plus being Dachshunds they have that long, low spine so the Glucosamine and Chondroitin. These supplements are good for joint health.

The chicken mini-Naturals are used in different ways; they're a great training treat, and then my latest use is to transition the baby puppies to eating dry puppy kibble I sprinkled Zuke's chicken, mini-Naturals on top of the chicken California Natural puppy food. The Zuke's mini-Naturals are soft and have a strong scent so the puppies found it via the scent and began eating it immediately and then crunched on the dry puppy kibble which is what I feed the Dam during her pregnancy so her milk has scent and flavors from the dry puppy food they need to eat once they're weaned from their mother's milk. I was thrilled. Two of the puppies are living with me and two were placed in new homes. Coco Chanel and Flash stayed here as part of our family and will be breed when they reach the appropriate age for their gender; its earlier for a male than for a female. They're gorgeous, hilarious puppies and they just turned six months old. I refer to Flash as a Dachshund in a Black Labrador Retriever suit.

Chalk another one up for Zuke's! I've never had to worry during the horrific pet food issues we've heard about. Nightmare across the board toys, pet food -- all of it! Anyway, very glad I had done my homework years earlier in terms of the food I wanted for my pets. Now, via blogMerit and Pets-SOS I'm attempting to tell our on-going story and share the resources for healthy, treats and pet food and toys that your pets will like eating and playing with and you can be more confident in what you're providing the 'pet' members of your family.

Here's what I use. Remember Natura Pet makes a lot of brands so use their food finder to select the product line that suits your pet's needs.

Treats:

Zuke's mini-Naturals, chicken flavor

Zuke's Hip Action, peanut butter flavor

Natura Pet makes several different brands of pet food, two that I use are INNOVA and California Natural.

Puppies:
California Natural Puppy, chicken

Adults:
California Natural, Reduced Calorie, chicken
Innova EVO, reduced calorie, chicken

Wet Food:
Merrick's canned dog food; Thanksgiving Dinner and Turducken

Treats:

Zuke's mini-Naturals, chicken

Here's a video I found on YouTube produced by Animal Attractions about Dachshunds. It's a fun and informative video about the breed. Please note my posting of this video in no way endorses Hill's or Science Diet pet foods. Personally, I am not a fan of feeding my dogs what I call lab. food. I use healthy, human grade ingredient treats and foods for my dogs; the dogs are happy, I'm happy and my vet. says my dogs are very healthy and well taken care of. See my post below about Zuke's Natural Treats and Natura Pet brand pet foods.

Ultra-Last Minute Shoppers - Gift Cards Are Thoughtful & Appreciated Gifts...

shane@blogmerit.com — 2007-12-23T20:40:59-06:00

If there's anyone left on your holiday shopping list no matter personal or professional a gift certificate is always appreciated because the recipient can select exactly what they want. No returns. No hassles just selecting something they really want and having it delivered to their door. Think about it, how much do you appreciate receiving gift cards? They're not impersonal and certainly not in those instance where you know stores where the person likes to shop. But even if you don't stop and think about places where someone can find anything, like Target or Amazon.com. Everybody knows them and if they can't find anything they like or want you probably would have faired much worse had you actually selected something for them in lieu of a gift card. Think about it.

I mention Target for lots of reasons of course their mix of hip, well designed yet useful products places them at the top of my list so I give and ask for gift cards from them. I love going to Target for my shopping and its where I go about once a month to buy all sorts of things to run my house, life and business. I have dogs so I'm the guy with the 16-pack of Brawny paper towels in the bottom of his cart. But I love snaking through the aisles with my cart and checking out what I need and whatever else pops into my view. I also love checking out the end-cap merchandise that has been marked down. Last time we were there we found this really cool dinner plates in a great color and they cost all of 44 cents per plate. Style and value. Yes, I'll gladly take a gift card from Target.

I enjoy shopping in their online store both their own and their store within Amazon.com. Also, you can use their gift cards in the store and online so that's great if someone likes Target but doesn't have a store where they live, they can shop online and still redeem their gift card.

Gift cards from the following are always appreciated:

AA.com Hilton Sephora
Amazon.com Hyatt SONY
Apple, Inc. Home Depot Spa Finder
Atlantis, Paradise Island Hotels.com Target
Banana Republic iTunes Ticketmaster
Barnes & Noble Kayak Travelocity
Best Buy Kimpton Hotels United Airlines
bloomingdale’s Legal Seafood Wal-mart
Cabela's Macy’s
Circuit City Marriott
Continental Airlines NetFlix
Dean & Deluca Nordstrom
Delta Airlines Northwest Airlines
Dillard's Saks Fifth Avenue
Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts Old Navy
Gap Priceline

Another great gift is a magazine subscription. It helps to know the person but again if you know anything about them you can select a publication for that topic, assuming it exists of course. For friends who like design and architecture I've given subscriptions to DWELL magazine. I love Architectural Digest but this is really great semi-new publication that tends to focus on modern design. Beautiful photography along with quality editorial makes for an interesting issue each time a new one arrives. Love it.

Click here to shop the incredible selection in the Magazine Subscription Center at Amazon.com

Do We Like This Widget?

shane@blogmerit.com — 2007-12-23T15:22:48-06:00

I selected these as I thought they'd be interesting and useful to you. I would love comments so please take a moment and post yours here. There's a comments link below the post, click it and fill out the form that pops up. That's it. Everybody wins. Your comments help me to adapt the website wherever possible so my readers enjoy their time here at blogMerit.com. Enjoy the day.

Amazon.com Widgets

Nothing Like the Warm Glow from a Holiday [video] Fireplace...

shane@blogmerit.com — 2007-12-23T02:34:20-06:00

Have You Ever Had a Stone Therapy Massage?

shane@blogmerit.com — 2007-12-21T10:44:09-06:00

I will double-back and write more about this and some spa experiences in my on-going homage to Wellness here at blogMerit.com. For now here's a great video that begins to explain this specific type of massage, Stone Therapy. Enjoy and check back for more resources to help you on your path to wellness. Our society tends to be more reactive and than proactive and I hope over time and several articles on a range to topics I can become a resource for my readers to live a more balanced and productive life while attaining their life goals. Enjoy the day.

Want to learn more about Stone Therapy massage check out this amazing therapy at Amazon.com

Pre-need Insurance or Funeral Insurance...

shane@blogmerit.com — 2007-12-21T00:54:18-06:00

You Gotta Know When to Fold 'em...

shane@blogmerit.com — 2007-12-20T13:34:23-06:00

WebHostWorks.com and WebHostWorks.org are Domain Names I have owned for years that resold web hosting services. In light of heading in new directions with my business I have made the decision to sell these Domain Names. They are currently listed for sale at Sedo.com. I will entertain reasonable offers but no low ball or fire sale offers. Period. The name "WebHostWorks" has value in the marketplace and is quite brand-able in a marketing context which again adds to its value as intellectual property. Years of awareness over the life span of the brand also created value since its a name easily revived in the land of Google, Yahoo & company. PLEASE NOTE: the 'net' version is owned and controlled by another organization.

Click through the links above for more information and be aware this are NAME ONLY -- NO WEBSITE OR LOGOS ARE INCLUDED -- YOU ARE ONLY BIDDING ON THE DOMAIN NAME ITSELF.

Thank you & enjoy the day.

Resources if you're interested in buying a Domain Name:

Sedo.com

It's all in a name, we've all heard that expression. Right? This links to why liberty.com is so valuable in the Seller's mind. Check it out.

Mother's Traveling with Infants - Stop & Read This!

shane@blogmerit.com — 2007-12-20T11:46:54-06:00

I clicked through to read this piece due to the effectiveness of its title, "Jet Lagged" By BETSY WADE. I'm not one the people who flies during peak holiday periods but I was curious to see what the article was about so I clicked through. I was surprised to discover that the article is actually about an issue I've always had issues with, how infants are allowed to travel in their parents lap. Well, this article is so informative and well researched I just kept reading until the end. At that point I had several things running through my head because to be blunt of course I want everyone to be safe so this is flapping out there being ignored is surprising especially after you read about weight and gravity now put that into the context of a mother who is holding her baby and the plane slams into some turbulence and she's only holding the baby with one arm because she needed to get some thing from her bag, ironically for the baby. And the baby becomes a projectile, I'm using that term as its used in the underlying article.

Click Here To Read the Article

Flying has become taking the bus in the sky and it is so rare anymore to be on plane that isn't full and I'm a tall man so unless I pony up for Business or First class which I don't typically do so I have a system to how I book my seats but that's for anther post.

It became very interesting when I read through some of the comments posted by readers to the article. One in particular provided the name of harness designed for this purpose so I Goggled it and went to the manufacturer's website to check it out. I took some screen shots of the graphic which is also the name of this harness for flying with an infant. I'm not endorsing the product I'm simply sharing passing on the person's solution and links to more information. Click the graphic below to go the company website to learn more about this product.

Enjoy your holidays and travel safely whether by air or ground.

Is Jamiroquai following Radiohead onto the Internet?

shane@blogmerit.com — 2007-12-17T20:55:00-06:00

After finishing up with Sony Music's Epic records and that unprecedented eight album contract it looks like Jamiroquai might be the next musicians to follow Radiohead and offer their music via the internet. This would put their new music under their direct control while cutting out the record company and making direct contact with their fan base via their own website. Speaking of Jamiroquai's website they've just re-launched sans references to their former record label also stating their plans to make their content available via widgets for people to post on their websites, blogs, and social networking profiles like facebook and myspace classic, effective viral marketing. The relaunched official Jamiroquai band website is currently offering video content via links to and code from YouTube. I applaud their efforts but the video quality needs to be higher quality. I'm sure the video quality will improve. There's no denying the effectiveness of empowering people to place code back on their blog, website or social networking page. This will result in an even more powerful viral marketing effect that will benefit the band and their fans because interesting, quality content always finds an audience even in the vast play pen that is the World Wide Web. The major record labels must be shitting bricks!

This is the latest news from Jamiroquai.com

I love buying music via the internet. I was an instant, loyal customer of Apple's iTunes and still love buying downloadable media from iTunes. I love downloading music, audiobooks, podcasts and video both movies and TV shows. So, I certainly understand the appeal for musical talent taking control of their work and reinventing the way music is distributed to, in this case eager fans waiting for your next album.

Have you ever checked out the iTunes U area of the iTunes music store the content available there is awe inspiring? Podcasts that you can subscribe to which automatically download right into your iTunes library so you can listen to them whenever you want, sync to your iPod and take them with you for your commute or workout, wherever — whenever. Love my iPod, iTunes, iPhone, MacBook Pro and my Mac mini which is actually setup as our network server and is connected to our Sony 50" HDTV - the mac mini has an external firewire hard drive connected to it, which is where my iTunes library is stored and downloaded to. I stream my music from mac mini to a Sharper Image speaker that is connected to an Apple Airport Express which is controlled (streamed) via iTunes to the self-powered speaker.

Here's a YouTube video clip I pulled from the official Jamiroquai band website. I'm sure the video quality will improve as they develop their website and its content, including video.

Looking for their music on CD, check out what's available at Amazon.com maybe they'll show up in Amazon's recently launched mp3 download music store; that would be cool. For all things Jamiroquai check out Amazon.com -- selection & great prices too!

Got Lobster? Fresh From the Sea to Your Door + Unique Gifts...

shane@blogmerit.com — 2007-12-17T18:23:36-06:00

I'm a diehard seafood fan and Legal Seafood is a fantastic company - you couldn't drag me out of their restaurant off Copley Square when I was in Boston. I LOVE their food and it doesn't hurt that they always make my extra, extra dry vodka martini just the way I like it too. Its nice to see a familiar high quality seafood brand get it right on the internet. Having eaten at Legal Seafood restaurants several times I can see they have succeeded in creating a website that truly extends brand's reputation for quality while allowing people all over the country to experience their quality seafood delivered right to their door. I'm dreaming of their crab cakes, oh my mind is wandering and mouth is watering. Focus. I've ordered from them and everything goes like clockwork, no problems and arrives when it's supposed to. Its like going to the best fish monger or seafood market but having it arrive well packed and ready to be enjoyed when you open it. Legal Sea Foods Gift Certificates...Easy, Flexible, Memorable

Anyway, I'm sharing this because their food is top notch so if you're in the market for yourself or you need a great, easy for everyone but appreciated gift - one of their gift cards are great. You can select a specific package, say gift someone a clambake or like a typical dollar amount gift card. Either way the recipient has control of when the fresh seafood arrives so it doesn't sit at the front door in the elements, whatever they may be.

If it isn't fresh, it isn't legal!. Shop Legal Sea Foods Today

Reminds me of the time I ordered live lobsters on the internet for us, it was this whole dinner with clam chowder, live lobsters, clams even included the lobster pot to cook all in. The lobsters arrived in a styrofoam cooler with their claws banded so sat the cooler on the floor on our kitchen but my dogs were very curious about what was in that cooler. The lobsters kept knocking the lid off the cooler while it was on the floor and I remember Ginger one of my Daschunds getting very close, sniffing at the cooler and the top popped off and she jumped straight up into the air and back upped out of the kitchen all at once, it was pretty damn funny.

Anyway, back to Legal Seafood their food is some of the highest quality seafood I've had the good fortune to eat and if you're wanting to give someone on your gift list something unique try a Legal Seafood gift; you can choose between a traditional gift certificate or you can select from a menu of dinners that your recipient will love, they select the date they want it delivered so it's a fantastic gift for the seafood lovers on your list while also providing a unique and thoughtful gift. Got Lobster? -- with Legal Seafood the answer is yes!

Apple's iPhone is a Clear Winner in North America...

shane@blogmerit.com — 2007-12-17T15:07:40-06:00

Seth Weintraub (computerworld) reports that a survey conducted by Canalys for Symbian “shows that iPhone sales are second only to Blackberry in North America. That means that iPhone has passed Windows Mobile, Palm and Linux in sales in North America.”

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Source: Apple Hot News RSS feed

Refurbished iPhone, 8GB: only $349!