"Happy Birthday Drew Barrymore"

Happy 33rd birthday to Ms. Drew Blyth Barrymore! Born February 22nd, 1975. - Ace:)

"Hi-def battle ends as Toshiba quits HD DVD"

TOKYO (AP) - Toshiba said Tuesday it will no longer develop, make or market HD DVD players and recorders, handing a victory to rival Blu-ray disc technology in the format battle for next-generation video.

"We concluded that a swift decision would be best," Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida told reporters at his company's Tokyo offices.

The move would make Blu-ray — backed by Sony Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which makes Panasonic brand products, and five major Hollywood movie studios — the winner in the battle over high-definition DVD formatting that began several years ago.

Nishida said last month's decision by Warner Bros. Entertainment to release movie discs only in the Blu-ray format made the move inevitable.

"That had tremendous impact," he said. "If we had continued, that would have created problems for consumers, and we simply had no chance to win."

Warner joined Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Co. and News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox in that move.

1 million own defunct players
Nishida said his company had confidence in HD DVD as a technology and tried to assure the estimated 1 million people, including some 600,000 people in North America, who already bought HD DVD machines by promising that Toshiba will continue to provide product support for the technology.

Both HD DVD and Blu-ray deliver crisp, clear high-definition pictures and sound, which are more detailed and vivid than existing video technology. They are incompatible with each other, and neither plays on older DVD players. But both formats play on high-definition TVs.

HD DVD was touted as being cheaper because it was more similar to previous video technology, while Blu-ray boasted bigger recording capacity.

Only one video format has been expected to emerge as the victor, much like VHS trumped Sony's Betamax in the video format battle of the 1980s.

Nishida said it was still uncertain what will happen with the Hollywood studios that signed to produce HD DVD movies, including Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation.

"Jam of the Moment : 2/19/08

OK, so it's been quite a while since I've had a 'Jam of the Moment' over here @ Ace Lounge, but I must point this track out to those who may not be aware of it.

 

In a world filled with cookie-cutter crap, it's often discouraging finding new tracks that move me these days. That said, I must say with conviction that this new installment of 'Ace Lounge's Jam of the Moment' is what they used to refer to as a 'heater', 'off the chain', or 'dope'. Regardless of what the adjective of the moment is, let me just say that I like this song... ALOT.

 

It's ESTELLE (featuring Kanye West) - "American Boy" (produced by Will.i.Am) : Homeschool/Atlantic Records USA

 This is one of those songs that just grabs me the first time I hear it. Great groove, nice melody, unique vocals. The kind of chune that'l get stuck in yer head after one listen.

 

A little background on Estelle:

Estelle is from The UK. She released a full length album back in 2004 on V2 Records titled "18th Day". The album is quite good actually, but although she received a few music awards in The UK, the album didn't break through here, similar to Ms. Dynamite's album. Why didn't it? Because in my humble opinion, as ridiculous as it may sound, the American record-buying public does NOT like their R&B/Hip-Hop artists to have an English accent. (Floetry/Ms. Dynamite/Lily Allen, etc)

 

In any event, like I stated above the track is produced by The Black Eyed Peas' frontman Will.i.Am. He used the same instrumental for a track on HIS album titled "Impatient". Perhaps he sold the track to be used on the Estelle song or something along those lines... People who read my blog regularly may know that I am not really a big Kanye fan, but his rap works on this joint.

 

Estelle's next album titled "Shine" drops on May 6th, 2008 - which is WAYYYYY too far away in my opinion. With "American Boy" about to explode, 3 months is just simply too long to wait to capitalize on the single's buzz. Hopefully they'll push it closer when/if this song blows here.

 

Anyways, that's what's up. The current 'Jam of the Moment' on Ace Lounge is "American Boy" by ESTELLE!

 

Have a listen to a snippet below, and check out her video blog as well.

 

Peeeeeeeeace - Ace:)

 
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"The World's Largest Record Collection up on Ebay for $3,000,000"

from pittsburghlive.com - by Regis Behe Pine record collector selling 'history of music' For sale: 3 million record albums and 300,000 CDs; rare and out-of-print titles, all varieties of American music from classical to hip-hop. But it's much more than vinyl and jewel cases. "It's the history of music," says Paul Mawhinney, the owner or Record Rama Sound Archives in Pine. "It's my life's work." Mawhinney, 69, is reluctantly parting with a collection he started more than 40 years ago. Legally blind and fighting diabetes, he wants to spend more time with his five grandchildren. The collection is worth millions of dollars -- Mawhinney's personal estimate is at least $50 million -- but he has received only one solid offer. That bid of $28.5 million fell through. Other parties have shown interest, and Mawhinney says he continues to talk to a few interested parties. He has set of goal of selling the collection by March 1. "I've had a lot of people that wanted it, but they don't have the right kind of capital," he says. While Mawhinney's albums are a record collector's fantasy, they are beyond the financial reach of most vinyl enthusiasts. That's unfortunate, because there are a lot of desirable items, including: • An unreleased, untitled Rolling Stones album of early singles. Originally recorded in mono, the songs were remastered in stereo for FM radio stations in the early 1970s. Mawhinney estimates the album is worth between $5,000 and $10,000. • A rare original copy of Phil Spector's album "A Christmas Gift for You" that features Darlene Love, The Crystals and The Ronettes. • 15 copies of the first edition of "Elvis' Christmas Album." Mawhinney says the original album, released in 1957, has a red gatefold cover and features Presley singing "Santa Claus Is Back in Town," "Blue Christmas" and 10 other seasonal songs. Estimated worth is $700. Scott Neuman, president of Recordweb Communications LLC in Lakehurst, N.J., and owner of the online site www.forevervinyl.com, says Mawhinney is spot on with his evaluation of the collection. He agrees the Stones album -- especially if it is unopened -- could be valued at $10,000. "A Christmas Gift for You," in mint condition, could fetch between $700 and $800, and the Presley release might be worth as much as $1,000, Neuman says. Without having inspected the collection, Neuman believes Mawhinney's estimate of its worth at $50 million "is pretty darn close," he says. "That sounds right." Optimally, Mawhinney would like the collection to go to a major library or museum, or someplace that will keep it intact. He tried to contact local and national politicians about his dilemma, but he has not received any feedback. "I can't seem to get any interest from the country in preserving this for history," he says. "I'm very concerned about that." Regis Behe can be reached at 412-320-7990.

"Lindsay Lohan poses as nude Marilyn Monroe"

from foxnews.com

LOS ANGELES — Lindsay Lohan takes it all off to play a naked Marilyn Monroe in the new spring fashion issue of New York magazine.

Recreating Monroe's legendary 1962 final photo shoot for Bert Stern with the veteran photographer himself, Lohan posed for the spread on Feb. 5 at the Hotel Bel-Air.

When it came to being nude before the camera, "I was comfortable with it," says Lohan, 21 (Monroe was 36 in 1962, the year she died) — though she does confess to having done "250 crunches" the night before the shoot.

Lohan also compares Monroe's death from an accidental overdose of prescription medicines to Heath Ledger's.

"They are both prime examples of what this industry can do to someone," she says, adding, "I'm not them. I sure as hell wouldn't let it happen to me."

Lohan was arrested twice last year on DUI charges and pleaded guilty in August to misdemeanor drunken driving and cocaine charges.

"Nicole Scherzinger : Men's Fitness Magazine : photos / pics / images / cover"

Be sure to check out the latest issue of Men's Fitness Magazine (March, 2008) with Pussycat Dolls' front woman Nicole Scherzinger on the front cover. Inside you'll find several pics, an exclusive interview with Nicole, and even a pullout centerfold of her ala Playboy.

Oh yeah, and there's even some stuff about fitness and exercising or something too... - Ace:)

"Mariah Carey : Photos / Pictures / Images from the Touch My Body video shoot"

So.... Here are 3 photos from the set of Mariah Carey's upcoming music video for "Touch My Body", which is shooting in Los Angeles.

The video is directed by Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, X-Men Last Stand), and co-stars 30 Rock's Jack McBrayer in what appears to be a Napoleon Dynamite'esque role.

While I have been a fan of Mariah's since day one, I'm not too into "Touch My Body". That said, it still we prove to be good enough for millions of tweens/teens to illegally download it off the internet. - Ace:)

"Amy Winehouse : Censored tattoo for Grammy Performance"

Shouts to Spyder @ DJ-Spyder.Blogspot.com for bringing this to my attention.

 

As you can see in the photos above, Ms. Winehouse put a 'bra' on her pin-up girl arm tattoo - perhaps with a handy-dandy Sharpie pen. Maybe Amy or someone in her camp decided it would be best to not show nipple on a show that would be seen around the world. We wouldn't want another Nipple-gate on our hands, now would we? - Ace:)

 

 

"Natalie Portman & Scarlett Johansson share kiss in Berlin"

from foxnews.com

Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson puckered up for the press on the red carpet at the International Film Festival Berlinale in Berlin, Germany, on Friday, the Daily Mail reported.

"The Other Boleyn Girl" co-stars kissed each other's lips at the premiere of the film while posing for pictures.

The two have become close friends since working together on the film, in which they play sisters, and Portman recently told W magazine she thinks she is boring, the Daily Mail reported.

"The only thing that's a little bit annoying is that I feel that I come off kind of boring sometimes."