Finally! Someone’s come up with a way to charge AA batteries right from a USB port on your desktop or laptop computer. No more worrying about whether you remembered to pack that extra bulky charger and cords or if you remembered to charge/top off your batteries the night before. 

While a little more expensive than buying a regular NiMH rechargeable battery and charger, the space saving of not HAVING to carry around a charger more than makes up for it. And if needed, these batteries can be charged in many popular brands of smart chargers (in case your USB ports are busy.)

These batteries might not hold quite as much as some NiMH batteries, 1300ma vs the newest extra capacity 2500ma, but how’s this for handy? You can use some game consoles’ USB ports to charge a set of these batteries while you’re playing, and swap them out as your wireless mice, game controllers or other battery-operated items need them, practically guaranteeing charged batteries are always available. 

With these batteries, you can go both green — each battery can take up to 500 charges before being recycled, saving CO2 and reducing toxic waste over non-rechargeable batteries — and go light. What a great combination.

The tech specs for these little babies are:

• Battery Chemistry
• NiMH – Nickel Metal Hyrdride
• Technical Specifications
• 90%+ Charged after 5 Hours by powered USB
• Also rechargeable by approved smart NiMH chargers at 250ma for 7 Hours
• Battery Type
• Rechargeable AA NiMH Battery 1.2v 1300mah
• Product Specifications
• Built in Intelligent Charger
• Charge by powered USB port (Laptop, Desktop, Gaming Console, etc.)

Moixa, the company that makes these is also developing AAA batteries with a fold-out USB connector, and also larger sizes (C, D), 9-Volt models and even cell phone and PDA batteries.  It’s about time someone thought of this!  (That could ultimately save having to carry 2-3 or more bulky chargers around!)

You can find the AA batteries right now at Amazon in 2 and 4 packs (or for the person who needs AA batteries for a business or for the serious music listener/gamer, in 24 packs!):

Little known rechargebable battery facts (according to Moixa):

The average person probably only recharges their batteries about 10 times because of never remembering to put them in the charger or from losing the charger. (With these new batteries, that isn’t a problem. Pretty much anywhere there’s an easily accessible powered USB port, you can charge them up.)

In the United Kingdom (where Moixa is located) 680,000,000 batteries are bought each year. The average household there uses 21 batteries per year. This creates an estimated 19,000 tonnes of general purpose batteries waste alone, of which less than,1000 tonnes are recycled.  (I don’t even WANT to guess what the United States is using/throwing away!)

The NiMH chemistry used in the cell is also better for the environment than other types of rechargeable batteries, in particular those with NiCad chemistry (which is quite toxic due to the cadmium, a known carcinogen). It’s also inherently safer than lithium battery chemistry.

Technorati Tags: aa batteries, green technology, moixa, nimh batteries, rechargeable batteries, usbcell

In this day and age of ever increasingly smaller and more powerful technology, I guess Erin Andrews, the popular ESPN sportscaster, found out the hard way that even the tiny peephole on hotel doors isn’t safe from prying any more.

According to Erin Andrews’ reps, in an incredible invasion of privacy, somehow, someone standing in a hotel corridor managed to put a video camera to her room’s peephole and take a video of her while she was unclothed.  They then proceeded to upload it to the Internet.

After being threatened with legal action, the  video and pictures have been taken down, but the damage has already been done.  And as with all things Internet, they will no doubt surface again and again over the years…

How sad is it that you have to now think about somehow covering over the peephole in your hotel room to prevent prying eyes (and cameras)? Of course, it’s been said that Erin Andrews is more of a target for that type of "assault" than say someone like Jim McKay or Tommy Lasorda would have been.  Female sportscasters are supposed to have it all: gorgeous looks, a great personality AND an encyclopedic knowledge of sports. Male sportscasters can get old and craggy, and ramble on and no one seems to care (or takes nude photos of them – probably actually a good thing come to think of it.)

Of course, now that the story has broken all over the major new sites about how Erin Andrews was taken advantage of, no doubt a few crazies out there are looking for ways to do the same thing to their favorite celebs or sports figures, male or female. It’s a weird world… Hotels will no doubt have to be extra-vigilant to anyone who seems to be standing in front of a door for longer than it takes to actually open it (or who seems to be staring at the peephole from the wrong side of the door…!)

I’m not famous (and wouldn’t want to be after reading about Erin Andrews’ troubles), but this cautionary tale makes me want to keep a roll of duct tape with me whenever I travel so I can cover up any potential privacy problems with it. (A little over the peephole, some on the keyholes, some to cover any cracks around the doors and keep the curtains from moving, and some to keep the towels from slipping off the 2-way mirrors in the bathrooms… Hey! A little healthy paranoia seems to be appropriate, wouldn’t you say?)

Here’s hoping they catch whoever did it, and give them more than just a slap on the wrist.  Who needs terrorists to keep you from feeling safe when you travel when you have the paparazzi doing their jobs for them?

Technorati Tags: erin andrews, espn, female sportscasters, privacy issues, sportscasters

Wow, what a tough week in Hollywood and for all those who grew up watching and listening to them: three icons gone before you could blink. And how sad is it that all three were going through some of the toughest times in their lives when they passed?

First Ed McMahon, he of the TONIGHT SHOW 2nd chair, STAR SEARCH and TV’s PRACTICAL JOKES AND BLOOPERS, passed at the age of 86.  It appears that the bone cancer he had been suffering, among other health problems, may have contributed to his death.  (No doubt the added stress of being in financial trouble and on the verge of losing his home didn’t help…  Too bad he couldn’t have been enjoying his golden years instead of having to hawk Cash for Gold to make ends meet!)

Then, just when we were getting used to his being gone, Farrah Fawcett loses her battle with cancer at 62.  (How weird is it that all of the original Angels ended up with cancer? I’d seriously want to check out where they were filming for nuclear waste products!!) 

While I actually liked Jacklyn Smith the best of the three original Charlie’s Angels, the chemistry of the three leads together made for a fun show. Unfortunately, like many actors who leave successful shows before the storyline is really ready to let them go, Farrah’s career never really ever took off again. She ended up being known more for the men in her life and the best-selling (cheesecake) poster of all time and now for dying of a really embarrasing form of lower body cancer.  How sad is that?

Then, before we all stop reeling, the biggest shock of the week happens.  Ed McMahon was getting up there in years and Farrah had been battling cancer for a while, but Michael Jackson always seemed to go on and on no matter what bumps and bruises tossed his life.  Then, he gets accidentally done in at only 50 by the doctor that’s supposed to be watching his fragile health? (That’s just one of the many rumors running rampant right now…  Among the thousands that no doubt will spring up and grow and take on a life of their own as the days, weeks and months go by.)

I’m sorry to say I don’t really miss this Michael much.  I miss the Michael of the earlier years, the one who hadn’t gotten twisted so much by either his father or all the money or just finally being unable to cope with all the fame and pressure. I miss the originality of his early music, the magic he seemed to have lost as he lost his own way, personally and financially, not quite seeming to live in the real world anymore.  It’s too bad that it looked all downhill for him, no matter what he did.

RIP to all three. May they now have the peace and tranquility they seemed to have lost so late in their lives…

What a week…

Technorati Tags: Charlie's Angels, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, MUSIC, Obituary, Thriller, Tonight Show, TV

How annoying is it to start watching a show, only to realize it’s already been cancelled?  SCI FI Channel is one of my favorites, but they’re also one of the most frustrating in that they seem to pick up shows I never saw when they were first out, didn’t realize how great they were, only to find out that the 13 eps are all that there are and most likely ever will be.

Case in point: MOONLIGHT.  I vaguely remember promos for it when it first came out, but I never saw it during its original run.  I only managed to just now catch it when SCI FI picked it up, and I really found I enjoyed it.  (I’ve even managed to DVR all 13 eps so I can enjoy them at my leisure – that is until I run out of space…!)

I always had liked Sophia Myles from when she did DOCTOR WHO, but Alex O’Loughlin was a major surprise.  Gorgeous (with or without all the tats covered up), talented, funny and a decent actor given the source material, he definitely makes me want more…!  (The writing varies, ep to ep, which may be why the show didn’t get the audience it needed the first time around.)

Unfortunately, just like with THE PRETENDER, no amount of fan campaigns seem to be able to revive this vampire saga, even for a movie to ease our withdrawal pains.  Luckily, though, Alex O’Loughlin appears to be getting a 2nd chance on American TV with the new series, THREE RIVERS.  This time around, instead of playing a character who feeds off other’s blood, he plays a transplant doctor who gives others new life.  (Nice turnaround, eh?)

I’ve only seen a couple previews, but it looks good.  Especially with ER going off, it was about time for a new "doctor drama" to fill its shoes.  We’ll see, though.  With my luck, this will be another show that lasts anywhere from 2-13 eps before the Powers That Be pull it…  <sigh>  Better go make sure I have room on the DVR so I can grab ‘em while I can!!

Technorati Tags: alex o'loughlin, doctors, Drama, moonlight, Sci Fi Channel, sophia myles, three rivers, vampires

Last night’s Tony Awards show was a nice surprise.  It seems they have finally taken a page from Hollywood and decided to provide "teaser trailers" to the nominated shows, whether it be through extended musical numbers by the original artists or through short film shots from the plays in question.

In this day and age of tight economics, people want an idea ahead of time of whether their money will be well spent.  And given last night’s performances, I sure wish I had more money and could take the time off to go to Broadway!  There seems to be a treasure trove of great musicals and plays, with some really great actors treading the boards.  (Unfortunately, Michael T. Weiss’ play, IMPRESSIONISM, has already closed – seems no one in it rated a nod from the "Wing" this time around, even though it started before the end of nominating season.  Ah, well, better luck next year! At least he made Broadway this year!!)

Another thing I liked about this year’s Tony Awards was the host, Neil Patrick Harris, was on just enough to keep it interesting and funny, but unlike so many others, he didn’t feel the need to try to take over the show.  He kept the show going and got out of his own way.  (Plus he was quite a surprise at the end – didn’t realize he could sing so well.)

If you missed it, here’s a link I found:

BTW, is Angela Lansbury looking AMAZING for 84 years old or what!?!  What a totally classy lady.  And I’m positive she deserves all 5 Tonys she’s won, including this latest.  I’ve always liked her.

And I think it was wonderful they gave all 3 kids from BILLY ELLIOT a Tony.  (First time 3 people have ever shared the award for the same part in the same year.) After watching the number from the play, I can see why they deserved it, at least from the one kid’s performance. I felt sorry for Elton John, though.  He looked SOOOO tense when he was up for an award, only to lose to NEXT TO NORMAL.  (Especially since BILLY ELLIOT took most of the other awards.)  Guess they figured Sir Elton’s already got enough awards already? 

Another thing I liked was they didn’t feel the need to get reaction shots from the losers like they do on the Oscars and other shows. I mean, how horrible is it to have to sit there with a grin plastered to your face with a camera jammed in it while you’re sitting there hoping the winner will trip on the way to the podium and don’t want anyone to know what you’re really thinking? 

Here’s a list of the main Tony awards:

Best Actress in a Musical
Alice Ripley, Next to Normal

Best Revival of a Musical
Hair

Best Play
God of Carnage

Best Revival of a Play
The Norman Conquests 

Best Actress in a Play
Marcia Gay Harden, God of Carnage

Best Actor in a Play
Geoffrey Rush, Exit the King

Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Karen Olivo, West Side Story

Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Gregory Jbara, Billy Elliot

Best Special Theatrical Event
Liza Minnelli, Liza’s at the Palace

Best Direction of a Musical
Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot

Best Direction of a Play
Matthew Warchus, God of Carnage

Best Original Score
Tom Kitt (music) and Brian Yorkey (lyrics), Next to Normal

Best Featured Actress in a Play
Angela Lansbury, Blithe Spirit

Best Featured Actor in a Play
Roger Robinson, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

Best Book of a Musical
Lee Hall, Billy Elliot

Best Choreography
Peter Darling, Billy Elliot

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Tim Hatley, Shrek The Musical

Best Costume Design of a Play
Anthony Ward, Mary Stuart

Best Orchestrations
(TIE)
Michael Starobin and Tom Kitt, Next to Normal
and
Martin Koch, Billy Elliot

Technorati Tags: Angela Lansbury, Billy Elliot, Broadway, Hair, Michael T Weiss, Tony Awards, West Side Story

After an extra long wait (first due to the writer’s strike, then to Hollywood’s deciding to push it back some more), HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE is finally coming out July 15h. Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Michael Gambon, this film also brings back such favorites as Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, David Thewlis, Tom Felton and Julie Walters, while adding some new actors to the mix: Jim Broadbent brings Professor Horace Slughorn to life, while Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (nephew to Ralph Fiennes) gives us insight into the young Tom Riddle aka Voldemort.

This installment is being directed by David Yates, who also brought us HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX.  Hopefully having learned his lesson from that one (it was cut waaaay too far down from the books in most fans opinions, including mine), this new film runs a respectable 2 1/2 hours, which should give us plenty of time to enjoy the story and the characters.  That’s especially important since this book is the one that sets up the sides for almost all the important people in it.

(A while back I picked up some secondhand audiobooks of the first 4 titles in the series.  I’ve been listening to them in the car, catching myself up on the storyline.  Still can’t decide whether to re-read HALF-BLOOD PRINCE, though, before or after the movie as it’s been a couple years since I read it…  I think I prefer to revisit the story with the movie version first, then re-read the book to see what’s different.)

Less than a month and counting!  (Unfortunately, we’ll then have a year and a half to wait for the next one, too…  <ARRgggh> Talk about exquisite agony…)

Technorati Tags: daniel radcliffe, dumbledore, emma watson, Harry Potter, hermione granger, Michael Gambon, ron weasley, rupert grint

Sadly, it appears that David Carradine has killed himself.  According to news sources in Bangkok, he was found in his hotel room, possibly in the wardrobe, with a curtain cord around his neck.  (They also mention the possibility of other cords wrapped on him, but have called this a suicide at this point – no details have been released to protect his family.  However, the extra ropes make me wonder about accidental/autoerotic asphyxiation if they don’t think it’s a homicide, but that’s just a supposition on my part.) 

Carradine had been in Bangkok filming a new movie when his body was found by a hotel maid on Thursday morning. According to people associated with the production, he had failed to show up for a dinner the night before, but no one had been concerned at that point.  (According to reports, he had been dead for approx. 12 hours when he was finally discovered.)  He was 72 at the time of his passing.

Even though Carradine had hundreds of movie and TV credits, he will no doubt be best known for his iconic role as  Kwai Chang Caine in KUNG FU. And while the character of Caine was envisioned and created in the 1970s by Bruce Lee (who fully expected to play it, but Hollywood had other ideas), Carradine managed to pull off the half-Chinese, half-European West-wanderer for 3 years (and quite a few movies and a 2nd TV series based on the same character 20 years later.)  Not bad for a man who had Irish, English, Scottish, Welsh, German, Spanish, Italian, Ukrainian and Cherokee ancestry, but not a drop of Asian, eh?

Carradine’s career then faded into a series of B, C (and sometimes Z level movies) and small parts on TV shows, mostly in the martial arts and horror genres.  He could never quite capture that movie magic again, that is, until Quentin Tarantino made him "Bill" in 2003. (Even that part was to be someone else’s originally: Warren Beatty was supposedly tapped to play it as a "James Bondesque" assasin, but he bowed out, suggesting Carradine instead.)  However, even with that hit, afterwards Carradine still was only offered parts in non-mainstream movies as martial arts villains or supporting roles. He just couldn’t seem to find the fame he sought.

Carradine told the AP in 2004, "There isn’t anything that Anthony Hopkins or Clint Eastwood or Sean Connery or any of those old guys are doing that I couldn’t do," he said. "All that was ever required was somebody with Quentin’s courage to take and put me in the spotlight."

I can’t say he was my favorite actor, but David Carradine was definitely a part of my TV-watching childhood, and I admit I thoroughly enjoyed KUNG  FU, watching all the episodes (from both series), and he did Bill justice, not an easy thing to do. 

May he rest in peace… 

Technorati Tags: ACTORS, David Carradine, Kill Bill, Kung Fu, Suicide

I rarely watch reality TV much lately, generally due to lack of time (and inclination), but when I read all the buzz about Susan Boyle, I had to take a few minutes to see what it was all about.

Like probably just about everyone watching that excerpt from BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT (including Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan, Amanda Holden and the entire audience that night), I would have thought she had more cheek than talent given her opening remarks and looks if I hadn’t had an inkling ahead of time that she was something very special.  (Sometimes I swear so many people get on those shows just so the judges can make snarky remarks that it gets too easy to lump contestants into that category, especially, and unfortunately, based on looks.)  So I wasn’t as surprised as I might have been…

Yet, I was still bowled over by Susan’s voice!  She has one of the purest, sweetest voices I’ve heard in a long time, especially for someone 47 years old.  And her delivery and stage presence is amazing.  Nowadays, you get too many singers who have pretty good voices, but who don’t really know how to sell a song or you get ones who can use a stage well, but don’t have the voice.  She’s got both in spades.

I can’t wait for her to come out with an album.  I rarely buy them, because usually only a few songs on each are worth having, but I think she’d be wonderful across the board, making whatever she does a keeper.  (There’s a limited edition charity CD she sang on years ago that shows she’s not a fluke…)

Here’s hoping she wins on BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT.  She surely does.  (If "Mamma Trish" makes it to the finals, and she doesn’t, I think I’ll puke prolifically, and then I’ll remember why I don’t usually watch these shows in the first place, not to mention boycotting any future Simon Cowell productions should that be the case…)

Click on the photo above to watch her performance or here.

Technorati Tags: Britain's Got Talent, Susan Boyle

Previews for the Broadway play IMPRESSIONISM, starring Jeremy Irons, Joan Allen, Michael T. Weiss, Marsha Mason and Aaron Lazar among others, start this Saturday, Feb 28th.  The play will have an 18-week limited run (due to other obligations for Jeremy Irons, who will go on to another project right after.)

As part of promoting the play, the actors did a Meet and Greet for the press, some of which you can see below: 

BroadwaySpace Feature: Meet the Cast of Impressionism

Meet the Cast of Broadway’s Impressionism: MICHAEL T. WEISS

Meet the Cast of Broadway’s Impressionism: JEREMY IRONS

Meet the Cast of Broadway’s Impressionism: JOAN ALLEN

Meet the Cast of Broadway’s Impressionism: MARGARITA LEVIEVA

Meet the Cast of Broadway’s Impressionism: ANDRE DE SHIELDS

Meet the Cast of Broadway’s Impressionism: AARON LAZAR

The play is being performed at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater on Broadway at 236 W 45th Street, New York.  Ticket information is available at Telecharge.com or by calling 800-432-7250.

The official website for the play is ImpressionismThePlay.com.

Technorati Tags: Aaron Lazar, Add new tag, IMPRESSIONISM, Jeremy Irons, Joan Allen, Marsha Mason, Michael T Weiss

Vintage 1959 Gibson Les Paul Flametop Guitar

In this day and age where cash seems to be worth less and less, there still are a few items that seem to appreciate with age. One of those categories appears to be vintage guitars, especially vintage Gibson guitars.

In recent years, Gibson guitar collectors have been known to pay as much as $400,000 (yes, that’s a 4 with 5 zeros!) for a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Flametop.  According to Jay Boone, owner of Emerald City Guitars in Pioneer Square, that particular guitar was sitting under a bed gathering dust for 40 years, unbeknownst to the adult children in the family in Illinois who discovered its worth after seeing some press about Boone and its sister guitar.*

Guitars like that just 10 years ago would have only gotten a 10th of that, but currently the market is hot, even with people striving to save every penny.  Avid (or should I say rabid?) collectors of all types don’t seem to have slowed down and the guitar market proves that.  Quite a few people would love to have their hands on the same type of guitar that say, Les Paul, Bruce Springsteen or Paul McCartney may have played.

Even other models of vintage guitars that would have only brought $2-$3000 a decade ago are currently being snapped up for $20-$30,000.  Of course, the vintage guitars are also 10 years older than they were, and finding ones in good condition is getting more and more scarce as time goes by, making each more valuable.

So, if you happen to have what might be a vintage guitar hiding in a closet or attic somewhere that appears to be in fairly good shape, you might want to get it appraised.  Even if you aren’t planning to sell it to finance your kid’s education, take that vacation, or sock the money away for your retirement, it wouldn’t hurt to have it insured for what it’s really worth.  (However, if you’re going to sell or buy a guitar as an investment, as with all investments, realize that guitar values can go down as easily as they go up…as the stock market and housing markets recently proved.)  And as with all collectibles, watch out for phony or reissued models.  When unsure, always ask an expert.  (And, as the Antiques Roadshow has shown time and again, sometimes it’s best to ask at least 2! And don’t forget to check out up-to-date price guides, too.)

 *According to Taking stock of your collectibles in the Seattle PI.

Technorati Tags: guitars, investments, Les Paul, vintage gibson guitars