Take your music on the road.

The Subaru iPod Interface allows extensive control of your iPod through the Impreza’s factory head unit and steering wheel controls (if equipped). While connected, the iPod’s battery will be charged and scrolling text information can display playlist, artist, album, or song titles on the head unit. Choose from all the familiar play modes: repeat one song, repeat all songs, shuffle songs, and shuffle albums. You can even fast forward and rewind individual songs, Podcasts, or Audiobooks.

Never skip a beat.
Your iPod will be turned off when the vehicle’s ignition is turned off, and will resume playback when the ignition is turned back on. If the head unit is switched to AM/FM/CD or Aux modes, the iPod will pause and resume playback once the “SAT” button is pressed.

Out of sight.
The dock connector is located in the center console, freeing the interior of unsightly cables and keeping the iPod hidden from view.

As per subaru.com

speech

I have thought a lot about Back Formation lately.
Back Formation is a linguistic term which refers to the formation/creation of a new word by removing affixes, i.e., certain parts of the word. The resulting neologism is called a back-formation.

An example would be the verb 'opine' born out 'opinion.' And 'opine' is a bona fide verb. The following, however, are NOT.

"commentate" - commentary
"orientate" - orientation
"conversate" - conversation

And something from syntax:

"must have 'went' - must have gone

They annoy one. In an appetite-suppressing sort-of-way.

Free Samples are also Larry David's Petpeeve

HBO will be airing the 6th season of Curb Your Enthusiam starting this month and, as far as I'm concerned, it's the only truly intelligent text on cable TV.

Every episode is a beautifully woven carpet of humor, self-deprecation, and yes, human sensitivity. Larry David [also the master mind behind the uber-funny Seinfeld] comments on things with such linguistic facility that any literarily inclined individual is bound to react to.

Last night episode's tackled the notion of sampling.

Free samples are as ubiquitous as blonde people in LA. The only problem is knowing when to know that enough sampling is, indeed, enough.

Anyway, how often have we had to wait in line longer or be inconvenienced in some way because of free samplers?

This is the question that Larry David raised in his last episode and I share his basic annoyance.

I reckon one way of feeling understood and 'gotten' is recognizing things that annoy others the same way they annoy you.

Granted, free samples are out there for the taking but let's all be responsible when we partake. We don't have to try all the samples at the same time, after all there is only that much the stomach can process before one gets heartburn.

Eat responsibly, partake reasonably, and keep the line flowing, folks.



graph per HBO

Canadian Dollar reaches parity with the US $

This week the Canadian dollar reached parity with the U.S. dollar for the first time in almost 31 years, capping a spectacular run that has seen it rise 62 per cent since 2002.

So, when going to Starbucks in Canada, a Macchiato should in theory only cost 4 bucks (because that's a reasonable price, of course!).

Marriage

Gabriele Pauli, a controversial politician has shocked Germany by suggesting the so-called "seven-year itch" could be dealt with by limiting marriage contracts to that period.

Twice-divorced Gabriele Pauli, who is attempting to become leader of the ultra-conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), believes anyone wanting to stay married beyond seven years should have to apply for an extension. The partnership would otherwise be automatically dissolved.

The 50-year-old maverick last year rattled the all-white and male-dominated hierarchy of her party, which rules the Catholic southern state of Bavaria, by posing for magazine photographs dressed as a dominatrix in latex and leather.

Speaking at the launch of her manifesto, she said: "I firmly believe marriages of the future should be locked in to a time period.

"The basic approach is wrong ...many marriages last just because people believe they are safe. My suggestion is that marriages expire after seven years. I know that after this period many marriages reach a crisis point.

"It is false to go around with a notion that marriages are always super and intact."

The CSU has dominated Bavarian politics since the Second World War. It is the sister party of the conservative Christian Democratic Union - which is led by Angela Merkel, the German chancellor.

Ms Pauli's first marriage lasted 11 years and the second six years - before ending in divorce in February.

She said: "A contract for seven years means you will have to commit for a fixed period and you will have to renew your vows should you want to carry on." (as per scotsman.com)

Well, I take this as quite a notion especially since it's coming from the CDU center of Germany, i.e., Munich itself.

But, come on, Pauli, 7 years?! You are suggesting too specific a 'solution' to what you seem to regard as a fundamentally fluid notion. An itch does not have to be 7 years old, does it?



graph per Spiegel.de

What is Intelligence?

Are we really more stupid than people in the past who are reputed to have had more common sense?
Are we leading the way in abstract thought?
James R. Flynn's new book "What Is Intelligence?" might, indeed, just answer these questions.



graph per amazon

Showtime's Californication

Showtime's new series "Californication" appears to be more interesting than it is, de facto. However, it is successfully imitative of the already much researched cinematic concept of the 'tortured writer.'

The story takes place, well, in Los Angeles, or rather that improbable land of tortured, but-oh-so-talented writers who don Diesel Jeans and form-fitting t-shirts and who still manage to look 'David Duchovny'-hot even though they consume exorbitant amounts of booze and grass.

But the improbability of the setting is not the reason why I think the show doesn't quite deliver. It simply seems to try too hard not to conform and yet it turns out to be nothing short of a replica of a good precursor.

But it's only 28 minutes and it could be worth watching when in-between chores, assignments, or whatever.

I have watched a couple of episode simply because I'm a junkie for quotes and this show, other than Duchovny's admirable hair styles and vintage t-shirts, comes with a healthy supply of sharp one-liners. And perhaps for that reason it could be watchable.



as per Showtime

3:10 to Yuma

"3:10 to Yuma" captures all that is unique about the Western genre. The pace is well maintained by all invoved, the soundtrack does justice to the plot and the faces of the charaters add to the overall poeticism of the film. And Russell Crowe and Christian Bale share unique screen chemistry.
I give it a big right thumb up!



as per imdb

iPod Touch

Apple's concocted a new toy: the iPod Touch. While it seems to be similar to the iPhone, it sports a feature that those of use who tend toward germophobia have a hard time embracing, i.e., it's touch-reactive. The following video shows how one operates it: http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/guidedtour/large.html

The one feature I do enjoy, however, is that if one buys music from iTunes, one can also add these titles to one's computer iTunes library. Currently, the iPodRip seems to be the only program, I'm aware of, that allows for the iPod music to get transfered into the computer iTunes library.

Plus, Apple and Starbucks are now working on providing free WiFi connection to the iTunes store. But this feature does not impress me that much, actually.

I don't think I will trade in my current iPod for its flashier brother any time soon. It is, however, nice-looking. And black.


as per Apple

Das Leben der Anderen

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's "Das Leben der Anderen" is a worthy cinematic imitation of what life was like for the artistic soul in East Berlin.

The premise of the film is: can genuine goodness exist and moreover, can it be actually maintained, within a system corroded by uber-control, suffocating human micromanagement, and self-alienating sexualizations?

It is, by far, one of the best cinematic analyses of socialist East Germany in that it decodes such a system from a human and humanistic perspective. How far and to what degree can the artist compromise for the sake of her/his art?

The cast matches the brilliant screenplay most adequately. It features Martina Gedeck [also seen in Bella Martha], the brilliant Ulrich Muehe, and the dashing Sebastian Koch.

A total 'Gesamtwerk,' I found.


as per imdb