Hey, I'm no gamer expert like Dada member paultosaul -- his Gamers Anonymous blog is good stuff!

But I do know enough to know that an update to PlayStation 3 is an event that is blog-worthy.

The update is firmware 1.93. Some of the fixes address network disconnect issues that PS3 owners experience after downloading the previous firmware update 1.92.

Some say that this update will be just like getting a new game console. Now maybe PS3 will be almost as good as Xbox 360!

Have fun, guys.

-Tyler

 

 

 

 

Hey, guys, it's Jess!

Just had to share this ADORABLE video that Dada member  Katherinee  posted!

It's a hard day here in New York City, with the anniversary of 9/11, so click here if you need to smile.

Here's the link URL in case you have trouble opening the above: http://us.dada.net/video/1624629/giggling_baby/

Take care, everyone!

~Jess

Sigh.

Mattel has issued another toy recall -- it's their third of the summer season.

This time it's 848,000 of their products from the Barbie, GeoTrax and Big Big World brands.

More than 675,000 units involving the Barbie brand have been flagged as unsafe toys due to paint containing lead levels considered hazardous to children. Miniature dogs and cats, small tables and chairs -- all part of the Barbie kitchen playset -- were included in the recall.

The GeoTrax rail and road system was also included in the recall, as well as the Big Big World 6-in1 Bongo Band.

It really is just a sad commentary on how consumerism has forced quantity-over-quality standards. As I've emphasized before, the manufacturers in China have little choice but to sacrifice quality to keep up with demand.

If this can happen to one of the toy industry's most trusted brands, how can parents help not becoming overly concerned with every aspect of their children's well-being?

It reminds me of this e-mail forward I received about those born between 1939 and 1979 and how technology and hyperawareness on the part of parents (using Purell constantly, getting cell phones for their 8-year-olds, etc.) today is so far removed from the way we used to live -- and doesn't it seem we were better off then? See for yourself by reading below!

~Jess

 

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

 

The Princeton Review's annual survey of college students reveals that kids at these ten schools are partiers without peer. Results are based on a combination of survey questions concerning the use of alcohol and drugs, hours of study each day, and the popularity of the Greek system.

#1…..University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, Wisconsin)
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is home to "nice Midwest people" who are characterized as a "fun and crazy bunch." The city of Madison is widely considered the ultimate college town, with a senior bragging that "State Street compares to Bourbon Street on weekend nights."

 

#2…..Ohio University-Athens (Athens, Ohio)
"Ohio University is the perfect mixture of business with pleasure," students tell us, adding, "We get the work done on the weekdays so we can party hard on the weekends." Most agree that OU is "a rip-roaring good-time party school."

 

#3…..Lehigh University (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)
Overall, "friendliness" is the glue that holds together this undergraduate body of 4,700 students. While "a decent amount of off-campus parties" provide bibulous opportunities, most of the partying takes place on "The Hill," where the university's 23 fraternity houses lie.

 

#4……University of California-Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, California)
UCSB's idyllic setting results in "a relaxed atmosphere, an ideal place in which to learn and enjoy life." Surrounding the campus is Isla Vista, "a small college town where [many] students live [that is] home to insane parties."

 

#5……State University of New York at Albany (Albany, New York)
Many students warn that "Albany is a good school, but the partying can take over your normal good student. You have to be mature to learn to balance both." Nearly everyone tells us that the bars are the place to be; the location is so crucial to social life that, by junior year, many students "move downtown by the bars."

 

#6……University-Bloomington (Bloomington, Indiana)
IU’s location has much to do with its party-school rep: "Sometimes it seems all there is to do is party," says a typical student, "because Bloomington is such a small town." But at a school as large as IU, students agree that "life can be whatever you want it to be. You can go to massive house parties. You can stay at home [and] watch movies with a group of friends. You can go to a coffee shop, smoke, and listen to music. You can study in any one of the libraries. You can join all sorts of clubs and organizations (including the Greek system). You can do whatever you want, really. And you should be able to find people to do it with."

 

#7……University of Mississippi (University, Mississippi)
Students tell us that Ole Miss is "a huge party school." The Greeks, who claim one-third of the student body, are integral to the action: "On game nights, fraternities have big parties at their houses." You should know that "people either really like Ole Miss or really hate Ole Miss. It is a Greek-oriented school, and if you aren't that type of person, or an athlete, you probably won't like the school."

 

#8…..University of Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa)
The "beautiful town" of Iowa City "has a lot to offer," mainly in the form of bars, "packed to capacity every night of the week." The resulting University of Iowa scene is "quite crazy, and most everyone seems to enjoy it." The campus's location right in the thick of things allows the "weekend to start on Tuesday and end on Sunday"--even though the on-campus sororities and fraternities are dry.

 

#9…..University of Massachusetts-Amherst (Amherst, Massachusetts)
The university is home to so many parties that some students refer to the school as "ZooMass." One student explains, "Off-campus keg parties are huge at our school." "Everyone seems to get along well," observes one student. "It is a good social environment, as you can meet any imaginable type of person." 

 

#10….Loyola University New Orleans (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Because "on any given night of the week you can go out and have a great time with tons of people your own age," "it's easy to get involved in really shady situations, e.g., running into a classmate at 4 AM on a Tuesday on Bourbon Street." The university clearly isn't oblivious to its students' extracurricular activities. In fact, "the school even takes into account that we live in New Orleans when planning school holidays, which is nice. For example, we always get the day after Halloween off and the days surrounding Mardi Gras."

 

 

So where do u go? Or where did you go? Would you say it was a Party School?

 

* share experiences lets make it interesting! ;)

The Mattel toy company had to issue its second toy recall of the summer -- this time, nearly 20 million toys, due to high lead levels and also dangerous magnet toys.

 

 

 

Robert Eckert, chairman and CEO of Mattel, had this to say: “The safety of children is our primary concern, and we are deeply apologetic to everyone affected. We don’t hesitate to take quick and effective action to correct issues as soon as we’ve identified them."

 

 

 

The toys are made in , where companies often have to sacrifice safety to keep up their costs low. But isn't completely to blame, as American companies force them into lowering prices in order to win the contract for making the toys. Or is it that the has become too accustomed appeasing consumers, who want goods as cheaply as they can get them?

 

 

 

Here is the list of recalled toy brands:

 

 

 

-Polly Pocket

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Barbie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Batman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Doggie Day Care

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hopefully, whomever is reading this doesn't have to endure too many sobs from kids who became attached to those toys!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~Jess

 

 

 

 

Actress Mary-Louise Parker was happy posing naked for a publicity photo for her offbeat Showtime comedy series "Weeds," but the only thing bothering her was her photo shoot partner - a snake.

The Golden Globe award winner recently revealed that she almost pulled out of the shoot when she discovered that she'd be posing with the reptile.

"I didn't think I was going to do it actually. But then, they were there and the snake was there, and I didn't want the snake to win, so I put the snake on," People quoted her, as saying.

The 42-year-old, who is pictured with a snake coiled around her naked upper-body in the poster, said that despite the jitters, she came to like the snake.

"I grew to really love the snake - by the end of the day," she said.

The third season of Weeds, which also stars Kevin Nealon, Elizabeth Perkins and new-to-the-series Matthew Modine, premiered on August 13.

 

 

She face one of her biggest fears getting her picture taken with a snake; personally I’m horrified by snakes and don’t think I’d be able to take such a photo. Would you be able to face one of your biggest fears?

If Comedy Central roasted Flavor Flav last night, then fiery haired, prop-master Carrot Top and Brigitte Nielsen were skewered.
Other than Public Enemy hype man Flavor Flav, Carrot Top and Brigitte Nielsen – Flav’s ex and ex-movie star – were the biggest marks during last night’s premiere airing of “Comedy Central’s Roast of Flavor Flav.”

The roast had this reviewer asking whether Carrot Top was the new Andy Dick? No, Carrot Top didn’t do any wild or outlandish antics like humping guys on stage or licking Farah Fawcett’s face, although he did have those damn props.
Very much like Andy Dick though, Carrot Top was both one of the favorite targets of the night and one of the most squeamish when he was in the bullseye.

Here are the best lines targeted at Carrot Top: Comedian Katt Williams on Carrot Top’s looks/parentage: “If Ronald McDonald f----ed Wendys.”

Comedian Greg Giraldo: “You look retarded. How did you find a plastic surgeon who could add a chromosome?”

Rapper Snoop (or is it Snoop Dogg, now? Who cares): “Who the hell let the bride of Chucky up in here?”

Comedian Katt Williams again on Carrot Top: “I salute Carrot Top for showing Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnel what a real butch lesbian is supposed to look like.”

Comedian Jeff Ross: “Carrot top, you’re busting out of your clothes. You're like the incredible hack.”

Comedian Lisa Lampanelli:  “I used to think everyone called you Carrot Top because of your red hair, but now I realize it’s that everyone wants to see you buried up to your neck in dirt.”

The roast started off strong, but came to came to a metal twisting, wheel screeching halt during Brigitte Nielsen and Carrot Top's sets, which came one after the other. They sucked the air (along with the funny) out of the room.

Aren’t these shows edited down? I mean isn’t that why Comedy Central tapes these shows weeks ahead of time – besides, of course, editing out the really good stuff, like the curse words. I hate to think what Carrot Top and Brigitte Nielsen were like unplugged? But there were still some great lines. Here are few, at least the cleaner ones:

Comedian Jimmie Kimmel on Flavor Flav’s parenting and numerous illegitimate kids: “Flavor Flav is responsible for more homeless black children than Hurricane Katrina.”

Comedian Jeff Ross on Flavor Flav: “How do we roast charcoal?”

Comedian Jeff Ross on Flavor Flav’s VH1 hit “Flavor of Love,” where 20 beautifies compete for Flav’s love: “If I wanted to see a midget bang hookers, I would go to a party at (Entourage’s) Jeremy Piven’s house.”

Comedian Carrot Top on Brigitte Nielsen, who for reference sake, is the ex-wife of Sylvester Stallone: “How did you go from f—ing Rocky to f—ing Bullwinkle?”

Comedian Jimmie Kimmel again on Flavor’s parenting: “Chris Benoit is a better father than Flavor Flav.” (Remember, Benoit was the ex-WWE wrestler believed to have killed his wife and son before killing himself in a presumed steroid rage this summer.)

It seemed that some in the viewing audience also had to be reminded who Flavor Flav was also. Before the festivities began, there was a montage video to let people know who he was – at least before his stint on VH1’s “The Surreal Life” that later spawned his viral (but addictive) reality programs.  
Quick note Comedy Central, if you need a montage to give the audience a background lesson on the guy you’re roasting, chances are that person is not worthy of being roasted.
Come on Comedy Central, Flavor Flav shouldn’t be roasted. He’s black enough already. He should be fried. (Sorry, I was in the roast spirit. That was a joke. Please don’t call the Rev. Jesse Jackson.)

But no, the roast wasn’t all that bad. Not the greatest though. Even unedited and with all lulls left in tack, the Howard Stern roasts of Sirius Satellite radio still rank supreme.
At these Comedy Central Roasts, it’s also shocking to see how these celebrities’ alleged closest friends never show up. Like at the last roast of William Shatner, of Star Trek fame, Leonard Nimoy (i.e., Spock) was a no show.  Last night, Flavor Flav partner and Public Enemy’s No. 1 MC, Chuck D, pulled a ‘Nimoy’ and simply taped a spot that aired during the roast. Is this a commentary on how insignificant Comedy Central’s roasts are? Or how insignificant Hollywood/entertainment friendships are?
But the “Flavor of Love” girls, who vied (embarrassingly) for Flav’s affection on national television, did attend the roast in person. But did they not realize why they were there or why they got such good seats?
They appeared aghast each time an insult was thrown their way. Hey ladies, here's a newsflash: You’re the comic relief.
Did they not get the memo? Or did they get it but couldn’t read it?
Anyway, with “Flavor of Love” off the air, and with not one but two spin offs from that reality train wreck (“Charm School” and “I Love New York”) breaking VH1 ratings records, and now with a primetime roast, Flavor Flav has officially (and finally) jumped the shark. (Sorry, John Hein.) Let’s close this disgraceful (albeit fun-filled) chapter in Americana. Didn’t you hear? “Chachi” has new reality TV show on VH1 too now.

 

SCARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Was annonuced June 17th that Nicole Riche and Joel Madden are with child. We hear she's currently around 17 weeks. Could Nicole Riche possibly be a responable parent? Considering her recent DUI? Well this is what she has to say in response to that question that has been asked numberous times...

" have a responsibility and it's something that I did wrong, and if I could personally apologize to every single person that has lost a loved one from drunk driving I would. And unfortunately I can't, but this is my way of paying my dues and taking responsibility and being an adult." -Nicole

WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON THIS SUBJECT? DO YOU FEEL NICOLE'S DRINKING DAYS ARE OVER? OR THAT JOEL MADDEN WILL BE A RESPONSIBLE ADULT AND TAKE CARE OF WHAT HE BROUGHT INTO THE WORLD?

 

Ah, the hot young tennis player didn't make the list!

But don't worry, Marat! I don't care how much money you make -- I'll still marry you!

~Jess

Damnnnn, celebs in Russia make NOTHING compared to the US! Check out the part of the article below that I bolded. Crazy!

-Tyler

 

 

excerpt From The Moscow Times story:

Forbes 's third annual celebrity rich list is out, and tennis star Marat Safin isn't on it.

The magazine's parallel celebrity power list -- based not only on income, but also on media coverage and public recognition -- featured such dignitaries as Natalya Vodyanova and conductor Valery Gergiev.

 

 

13 new celebs joined the list of the country's 50 most powerful and highest earning celebrities, including Olympic figure-skating champion Evgeni Plushenko and film director Fyodor Bondarchuk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In its third annual ranking, the magazine found that the country's top athletes, comedians and singers collectively earned more than $168 million over the past year -- still only a drop in the bucket by Western standards.

 

 

In this year's ranking, seasoned celebrities gave way to younger stars or dropped off the list altogether.

 

 

"A change of generations is happening in Russian show business," the magazine said.

 

 

Dima Bilan, who came second in last year's Eurovision Song Contest, made $4.1 million over the past year, becoming the 12th highest paid celebrity. By comparison, pop diva Alla Pugachyova earned an estimated $3.5 million.

Comedy Club, a new crop of stand-up comedians, earned $4.4 million last year, compared with $3.5 million the year before. Yevgeny Petrosyan, a Soviet-era comedian, dropped off this year's list. Comedy Club also came second in the power ranking, a sign that Russians are increasingly discovering a taste for Western-style, stand-up comedy.

 

 

Russian stars are still cheap. Their collective earnings of $168.4 million does not compare to the incomes of their Western counterparts. American television celebrity Oprah Winfrey alone earned $260 million last year, according to the Forbes list of the top 100 celebrities.

 

 

The country's celebrities may earn less in part because Russians spend more on alcoholic beverages than on music, books and movies, said the magazine. In 2006, Russians paid $4 billion to go to the movies and sports events, listen to music and watch films, but spent four times as much -- $16 billion -- on beer last year, the magazine said.

 

 

Russians are willing to shell out money for films, but there are still relatively few modern movie theaters across the country, Vishnepolsky said. "The entertainment culture is still underdeveloped and infrastructure is lacking," he said.

 

 

There were just two film directors and one actor -- the usual suspects on the list -- in this year's Russian ranking. Film director Bondarchuk and actor Gosha Kutsenko are this year's newcomers, who earned $1.9 million and $1.3 million respectively. Celebrity veteran Nikita Mikhalkov clocked in at $1.4 million, compared with $1.5 million the year before.

This year's 10 richest stars, including seven hockey players, a boxer and a basketball player, have all made their fortunes in sports. Maria Sharapova, who earned $23 million, remains 's richest star for a third straight year.

Other newcomers include pop singer Zhanna Friske, football player Yegor Titov, figure skater Ilya Averbukh and pianist Denis Matsuyev.

 

 

In addition to Safin, this year's losers also include Soviet-era pop singer Valery Leontyev, pop band Umaturman, and fellow tennis pro Yelena Dementieva. Also among the absentees was Mstislav Rostropovich, who ranked 50th last year with an income of $1.3 million last year. He died in April.

 

 

To compile this year's list, the magazine analyzed a number of factors, including celebrity estimated earnings, press mentions and Rambler.ru hits from July 2006 to June 2007.