5/4/10
5 Natural Household Bug Repellents
Summer is coming and you know what that means… BUGS!!!
I found an article that states 5 Natural Household Bug Repellents:
• Essential Oils: Using essential oils such as lemon, orange, clove, peppermint, and mint around the home will deter most bugs as they are turned off by strong odors.
• Garlic and Pepper Powder: Most bugs avoid both garlic and pepper; therefore, sprinkling the powder around the key areas in the home helps keep the bugs at bay.
• Cucumber Slices and Ants: As summer approaches, ants flock to kitchens on the hunt for food crumbs. Ants are appalled by cucumbers; therefore, the cucumber slices work best when placed near cracks or other areas where ants may enter the home.
•Crushed Mint and Flies: Small packets of crushed mint helps to repel flies.
•Lemon Peels and Moths: We love the fresh, citrus smell of lemons and prefer it to using cedar blocks in the closet to keep moths from destroying our clothes.
5/3/10
Weekend Recap
pic 1 - Beyonce gets a tat and guess what it says?
pic 2 - Floyd Mayweather beats Shane Mosley
Scores: 119-109 (twice), 118-110
Records: Mayweather Jr., 41-0, 25 KOs; Mosley, 46-6, 39 KOs
Rafael's remark: Simply put, Mayweather painted a masterpiece against Mosley in the biggest fight of the year barring Mayweather facing Manny Pacquiao in the fall. The first round could have gone either way. Mosley nearly knocked Mayweather out in the second round. Then "Money" regrouped like a champ and shut Mosley down. Easily. It was maybe the most telling moment of Mayweather's career, to see him face down adversity in a major way and come back so strong. Overall, it may be the most impressive performance in an illustrious career in which Mayweather has beaten many good opponents en route to championships in five divisions. read more @ http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/columns/story?columnist=rafael_dan&id=5155791
pic 3 - Pakistani Taliban claims NYC bomb
The so-called Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for a failed car bombing in New York's Times Square - a claim city officials have denied. A statement posted on the internet on Sunday said the attempted attack the previous day was to avenge the killing of two "Muslim martyrs", leaders of al-Qaeda linked groups in Iraq. "The Pakistani Taliban announced its responsibility for the New York attack in revenge for the two leaders al-Baghdadi and al-Mahajer and Muslim martyrs," the statement read. It referred to Abu Ayub al-Masri, also known as al-Mahajer, the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the purported head of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), an al-Qaeda affiliate. The two were reportedly killed in a joint raid by US and Iraqi soldiers on April 18. It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the claim by a group which is largely responsible for domestic attacks targeting Pakistani military or government officials. But Raymond Kelly, New York City's police commissioner, said there was no evidence to suggest the Pakistani Taliban was behind the incident. more @ http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/05/201052172630201226.html
Damon Dash Resurrects Roc-A-Fella To Start A 'Positive Movement'
When Damon Dash pulled a Roc-A-Fella chain out of his vault several months ago and presented it to Curren$y, it was just a celebration of their friendship. Now, the chain means much more. Dash is resurrecting Roc-A-Fella Records and plans to make Curren$y's Pilot Talk the label's first new release on June 15.
"I think we just having fun, really," said Dash, sitting in his office at DD172 next to Curren$y. "[Curren$y] inspired me to dust off the chains. We brought 'em out for kicks, just 'cause we could. Then we was like, 'F--- it, let's put it out through Roc-A-Fella.' It was really more something he wanted to do. Basically, 'cause we havin' such a good time, and the opportunity's there, we was like, 'Why not?' "
"What that means, what that shows me, is that dude thinks as highly of me as I do him," Curren$y said about releasing an LP on the label Dash co-founded with Jay-Z and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in the mid-1990s. "I know what's behind that. We all know and the fans know what that represented at the height of it. The aesthetic of it."
Dash said he hadn't been having "fun" in music since he, Jay and Biggs dissolved their partnership several years ago. But meeting and working with artists such as Curren$y and Jay Electronica who come through his DD172 facility brought the old feelings back.
"The funny thing is, people don't know that Roc-A-Fella wasn't meant to sell records," Dame said. "It was meant to show the respect and the honor amongst each other as friends. It was a friendship thing. That's what people liked. It's what made Roc-A-Fella appealing. It's odd, because I f--- with [Curren$y]. I kinda like him. When I met him, I wasn't as familiar with his music. My nephews and Sean O'Connell put me up on him. I liked him as a friend. Then I start seeing he's super nice with the rhymes, then I started seeing his influence. It's similar to the way we felt back in those days. It's working out."
The last album to come out on Roc-A-Fella was Jadakiss' The Last Kiss in April 2009. The label had been under Jay-Z's sole custody since the breakup of Hov, Biggs and Dash.
"Def Jam or Universal bought the brand. I think the 'beef' [with us and Jay-Z] was that Jay made it clear he didn't want me or Biggs to be a part of it. That's really where it was at. Now that he doesn't work for Def Jam anymore, he doesn't have the right to use the name. So there's no reason for us not to use it. It's there, and it's a brand that's not being used. So I was like, 'I'll take it.' It always meant something to me."
Dash said he and Curren$y are pushing a positive message about friendship and evolution.
"It's a way more positive movement," he added about the label's new incarnation. "It's what I wanted Roc-A-Fella, what I thought it should be 10 years after I started it."
Dash said he secured the new deal through L.A. Reid and Def Jam, which will serve as a distributor for his records.
After Curren$y's album, the next project coming off Roc-A-Fella will be Ski Beatz's 24 Hour Karate School mixtape.
Reps for Jay-Z were not reached for comment by press time. @ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1638284/20100503/dame_dash.jhtml
Diddy visits Weezy in Jail
Lil Wayne may be doing some time in prison, but that doesn't mean he can't make big things happen. He's allowed to have visitors while in jail, and it looks like one of the biggest names in music and entertainment took some time out to visit him. According to the New York Daily News, Bad Boy Records CEO and Sean John founder, Diddy, took to Riker's to visit the Young Money general. Puff apparently got in the public bus like everyone else to go visit Weezy, and the two chopped it up for an hour. With the rumors of Nicki Minaj being managed by Diddy, I'm sure Diddy told Weezy he was holding Nicki down. Hopefully when Weezy gets out, him and Puff will have some big things planned. @ http://globalgrind.com/channel/culture/content/1555174/Diddy-Drops-In-To-See-Lil-Wayne/
Two held in shooting of N. Phila. infant
The intersection of Diamond and North Randolph Streets was crowded Saturday night with people listening to music and enjoying the warm breeze.
Cecilia Colon and her neighbors were sitting on their front steps, admiring Colon's great-granddaughter, six-month-old Sandra McCoy, who was cuddled in the arms of her mother, Naisha Jesus.
Around 8 p.m. Jesus, still holding the baby, began walking across the street toward her home. Suddenly, two young men opened fire at each other, police said.
The baby was caught in the cross fire and was hit in the right armpit. She was listed in critical but stable condition at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children Sunday night.
One of the men fled on a bicycle but was later arrested. The other was hit by a bullet and staggered a few yards down Diamond Street before falling in front of a vacant lot, where police later found a shell casing.
The wounded man was apprehended and taken by ambulance to Temple University Hospital, police said. The names of the two men have not yet been released.
"Bullies don't got no names," neighbor Hilda Gonzalez said Sunday, sitting on Colon's front steps and comforting the woman, who was shaded from the midday sun by a black umbrella.
Gonzalez said her son Kahili Martinez was killed in a drug-related shooting in December a few blocks away.
"He was a target. Sandra McCoy was an innocent victim," Gonzalez said.
Another neighbor, Karen Williams, dropped by to offer her support to the baby's family. "Why are kids able to buy guns? Why are they getting killed?" she asked. @ http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20100503_Two_held_in_shooting_of_N__Phila__infant.html
Google City Tours
Almost like Hopstop.com; Google City Tours provides perfect walking directions.
more @ http://citytours.googlelabs.com/
Google Provides Directions via SMS
When you're lost and out of mobile internet territory, that's when directions are probably a really helpful thing. If you can still eke out an SMS message, you can text GOOGLE with a message formatted as "Directions A to B," substituting a town, ZIP code, or street address for A and B. Google will hit you back with the same directions it would provide via Maps, and your friends will say that you've saved this road trip. (thx Lifehacker)
Two-Way Gmail Syncing Goes Live on BlackBerry Services
RIM is finally updating BIS so that Gmail will accurately sync read and unread status of your mail. It's about time.
The update will also add support for Windows Media Audio attachments as well as OpenOffice documents. BIS 3.0 will also include the decidedly less exciting updates of a reconfigured, more secure E-mail setup application and more accurate error messages that will direct users to their specific carrier.
more @ http://crackberry.com/blackberry-internet-service-3-0-details-leaked-again