Wednesday, June 25, 2008

George Carlin hosts Saturday Night Live (first SNL episode from Oct. 11, 1975)

Rest In Peace: George Carlin
May 12, 1937 - June 22, 2008

Legendary comedian George Carlin died of heart failure at a hospital in Santa Monica, Calif.

This Saturday watch a rebroadcast of the first episode of Saturday Night Live on NBC with host George Carlin.



Original Airdate: October 11, 1975

Read Dying Is Hard. Comedy Is Harder, Jerry Seinfeld's Op-Ed column (published in the New York Times June 24, 2008).

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Top Travel Gadgets

I've been trying to pick up a pair of noise reducing headphones that fold up for travel and while evaluating my options I ran across the Jersey Journal's, Top 5 gadgets for Travelers. I don't necessarily agree or disagree with the list but a lot of people are planning their summer trips, so this list could be helpful if you're taking a flight in the near future.

  • Apple iPod Touch: The top-of-the-line iPod Touch stores 32GB of songs, movies and TV shows, with a relatively large, video screen.

  • Noise-reducing headphones: Little ipod earbuds don't block out a jet engine's roar, so something stronger is recommended. The Bose QuietComfort 3 headphones are considered the best choice, but Sennheiser and JVC offer decent options that cost much less.

  • Knee Defender: A bit obnoxious, okay this is totally obnoxious and rude. The knee defender locks on your tray table preventing the seat in front of you from reclining. Just be warned that seat karma will back at you for this evil trick.

  • Scanner Bag: A luggage tag with a quick-fold pouch inside to hold your “pocket stuff” when you go through airport security.

  • Nintendo DS Lite: I don't play video games, so I can't kick in any comments except recommend you wear your headphones when playing the games (or for that matter wear headphones while watching your portable DVD player or anything that makes noise). The author this list likes the Nintendo more than PlayStation Portable because of the interface and ease of use.

I'm thinking an Amazon Kindle or Sony Reader would be tops on my travel gadget list. I have trouble sleeping on long flights so this would be an opportunity to cut down my book list backlog. Hopefully inflight cell phone access doesn't catch on (cringe).

Add a comment if you can recommend a decent pair of headphones to use on a flight. Thanks!

Thursday, June 5, 2008