NBC to Dissect Super Bowl Ads in Post-Game Google+ Hangout

When Google first rolled out Hangout video chats for Google+, part of the plan involved allowing hanger-outers to watch YouTube videos together. While many questioned the usefulness of the feature, we’re now seeing what Google had in mind all along: a Super Bowl post-game Hangout where users dissect the big game’s commercials.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t part of the Google+ Master Plan at the initial unveiling, but a Hangout based around Super Bowl ads does strike us as one of the better uses of the service’s YouTube integration. Google’s partnering with NBC to run the Hangout, tapping sports business reporter Darren Rovell to host.

“The day after the Super Bowl is when people head back to their office water coolers to discuss what they loved and what they didn’t,” Rovell said in a press release. “Our conversation is about taking all those water cooler conversations and bringing it to a national, digital stage.”

As part of the deal, NBC will promote YouTube’s Ad Blitz, the page where the site asks users to vote on their favorite Super Bowl ads. In turn, YouTube will serve up NBC ads and promos for the big game all weekend. This marks the first time YouTube has had any kind of partnership with the Super Bowl broadcaster. Rovell will reveal the winning ad of the Ad Blitz on his CNBC show, SportsBiz: Game On on Feb. 17.

Google+ Hangouts are generally limited to 10 users, but some users can create “Hangouts on Air,” which expand beyond that limit by allowing others to watch the Hangout as a live stream on YouTube.

Love the idea of an official Google+ Hangout about the ads? Will you join? Let us know in the comments.

Moneyball, Heartburn, E-Books

There are events and activities scheduled nearly every day at Bayport-Blue Point and Sayville libraries; kids, teens, adults and families can participate in a variety of fun workshops for a small fee. Registration required for some events. For more information, click here or here . See what's happening this week at our local libraries.

The Cubby Corner is a place for children to come and enjoy stories. This event is virtual but parents can check out some of the book selections from Bayport-Blue Point Public Library.

Moneyball is B-BP Library's feature for the Jan. 30 Monday Film Series. Brad Pitt, Robin Wright and Jonah Hill star in this 133-minute movie showing at 1 p.m.

Parent's Advisory meeting at B-BP Library Jan. 30, 4 p.m. Science, puppet shows, magic shows, music, crafts, cooking, animals, outdoor programs and more. This is your chance to stop in, discuss and make suggestions about the types of children’s programs you would like to have at the library.

Head to B-BP Library at 7 p.m. for the new monthly book club. Join other readers us for a lively discussion.

Jan. 30 at 7 p.m., Sayville Library hosts Stony Brook University Medical Center gastroenterologists Gina Sam, MD, Director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Center and Satish Nagula, MD, Director of Endoscopy for The “Burning” Question: Is it Heartburn or Something More? The doctors will help shed light on the differences between heartburn, gastro esophageal reflux disease , Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal cancer. The advanced technology that is able to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients will be explained. A question-and-answer session will follow the presentation.

Kids grades 6-12, join your peers at B-BP Library for an evening of painting with acrylics as you paint an acrylic textured winter beach scene Jan. 30 at 6:30 p.m. Remember you will be painting, wear appropriate clothing. The library will supply all the materials.

Advanced Battle of the Books for grades 9 and up is held weekly on Wednesdays at Sayville Library. Participate in a reading competition against other Suffolk County Libraries: Read a group of books and show off your knowledge as part of the Sayville Library team. Books will be announced and handed out at the first meeting.

Learn a very old stitch called Herringbone to create a very current wide cuff bracelet at Sayville Library, Feb. 1, 6:30 p.m. Using high-quality TOHO cube beads you will create a wide cuff bracelet that is beautiful to wear and feels like fabric on your wrist. In this class you need bring nothing--all will be supplied by instructor. Beads, thread, needles, and clasp.

Learn how to make a faux pearl necklace at B-BP Library Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. Jewelry making diva Jackie Dunn returns to show you how to make this elegant necklace. You’ll get a range of bead and color options to ensure your piece is unique. Fee: $5 payable by check only.

The workshop, Creating A Positive Future for Your Child With Special Needs, is scheduled for Feb. 2 at 7 p.m., Sayville Library. The workshop will introduce the different aspects that need to be considered in developing a life care plan for achieving the best quality of life in every area for your child with special needs. The program will touch on topics including planning school transitions, preventing the loss of government benefits, supplemental needs trusts, financial planning, guardianships and more.

Laser-Tastatur fur iPhone, iPad, iPod touch und Android

Ein neues Smartphone-Zubehor namens Magic Cube soll das Tippen von langen Nachrichten sehr einfach machen. Das Gerat projiziert eine Tastatur auf eine Oberflache, so dass man diese wie eine echte Hardware-PC-Tastatur mit 10-Fingern nutzen kann.

Das grobe Problem an kleinen Smartphones sind die entsprechend kleinen Tastaturen. Viele werden sicherlich mit den virtuellen Tasten gut zurecht kommen, doch einige werden eine grobe Tastatur vermissen. Vor allem Vielschreiber, die gern auch mal eine langere e-Mail uber ihr Smartphone schreiben, werden das Problem kennen.

Der Zubehor-Hersteller Celluon bietet nun ein neues Gadget, das Abhilfe schaffen soll. Sie erfanden ein Laser-Keyboard namens “Magic Cube”. Magic Cube projiziert die Tastatur mittels Laserstrahlen auf den Tisch. Dort kann man ganz normal tippen, als hatte man eine echte Tastatur unter seinen Fingern. Ein eingebauter Sensor nimmt die Bewegungen der Fingerspitzen auf und ubergibt die Eingaben an das Gerat. Die Verbindung zum Gerat wird dabei via Bluetooth hergestellt.

Magic Cube ist auf jeden Fall ein nettes Gimmick fur Vielschreiber. Es passt in jede Tasche, so dass es sich leicht mitfuhren lasst. Fur Jacken-/Hosentaschen ist es jedpch zu grob. Fur Manner wird es also wohl schon wieder schwierig, dass Zubehor immer mitzufuhren.

Ein weiteres grobes Problem sehe ich im Stromverbrauch durch Bluetooth. Bluetooth ist ein richtiger Stromfresser -- fur kurze Datenverbindungen ist Bluetooth gut geeignet, aber fur langere Standzeiten? Wohl eher kaum. Zudem musste man in Tests feststellen, ob die Erkennung der Fingerposition wirklich einwandfrei funktioniert oder fur Frust sorgt. Den letzten Kritikpunkt sehe ich im Preis des Magic Cubes. Mit 190 US-Dollar, also ca. 140 Euro, ist das Zubehor extrem teuer.

Fazit: Nette Idee (die nicht neu ist), doch durch den hohen Preis und die doch eher klobige Struktur des Gerats ist es nicht wirklich empfehlenswert. Was meint ihr dazu?

What Will Become Of The 'Kodak Moment'?

Readers of this page know me as a baby boomer who prefers to describe her age in anecdotal terms, rather than getting too specific about the numbers. Suffice it to say that I had given up afternoon naps by the time Kennedy was assassinated. Not long after that (though it seemed like eons from my childish perspective), I had a Kodak moment when I attended the 1964 World’s Fair in my hometown, New York City.

Eastman Kodak Company‘s pavilion there was a white, undulating, wildly futuristic structure that looked like something out of Dr. Seuss but was actually designed by Will Burtin. Part of the rooftop garden simulated the terrain of the moon’s surface (five years before the first men walked on it).

I had little use for the exhibits there are about taking pictures — it was a number of more birthdays until I got my first camera. But when I did it was a Kodak Instamatic. That word has become so antiquated that Dragon NaturallySpeaking, the voice recognition software that I use to write, entered “in systematic” instead, and until I capitalized the word my computer flagged “instamatic” as a spelling error.

For a child, this camera might as well have been called “instant magic,” which is what Dragon entered the second time I said the word. It was the ultimate point-and-shoot. There was no need to focus or even learn to load film. The kodachrome came preloaded on a sealed cartridge that you simply dropped into the camera and wound (it stopped automatically when you reached the right point). You never actually saw the film.

But my favorite part was the flash cube that you snapped onto the top of the camera when you needed more light. It contained four tiny bulbs — one on each side — and rotated as you wound the camera after taking a picture. I loved the look of those exploded bulbs as they seemed to ooze their molten contents. How environmentally unfriendly! I imagine mounds of them lurking in landfills.

The phrase “Kodak moment” has been in use for more than 50 years, company research indicates. Among the early print-ad headlines was “This Kodak moment can’t wait for Dad to get home,” which didn’t really speak to me since I had two working parents. After the tag line was reintroduced in the 1990s and trademarked in 1992, “Kodak moment” became part of the popular lexicon.

When I became a mother in 1997, I saw Kodak moments everywhere. I have two large file boxes of print pictures recording every gesture and every milestone from the first 24 months of my son’s life, arranged chronologically (with index tabs). I sometimes wonder if the house was in flames whether I’d have time to grab them from the closet before I dashed up the fire ladder to the roof. Now of course my husband and I can take pictures with our iPhones. Note to file: Put them in Dropbox.

All of our lives are filled with Kodak moments. When she died my grandmother left behind more snapshots than any other single possession. I hadn’t realized that she was not only the family matriarch — she was also the family archivist.

Some were poorly exposed, blurry photos of people who we couldn’t identify in locations we didn’t recognize. But others are cherished keepsakes. The experience of going through these photos provided me with significant comfort and inspired the cover of my book, Estate Planning Smarts.

I asked Laura Zavetz, who designed the book, to come up with a cover that graphically conveys a life well lived, even as the text deals with the subject of mortality. Our concept for the cover was to replicate the experience of opening a drawer after someone has died and having pictures spill out. Friends and family helped by emptying their shoeboxes of pictures and sharing their own Kodak moments.

The term “Kodak moment” has earned a spot in The Online Slang Dictionary, which defines it as “a moment worthy of capturing with a photograph, especially an adorable moment.” But will it lose its place there now that Eastman Kodak has filed for protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code?

Explaining The Orange Juice Scare

Doctor Oz opens the show and says he has been bombed with questions about orange juice and he is going to answer a lot of questions today. The common factor in this scare is that the fungicide Carbendazim was found in Orange juice processed in Brazil. Alissa Hamilton is on the show and she talks about orange juice that comes from Brazil. By the mid 1980′s Brazil surpassed Florida in juice orange production and is the largest producer of orange juice in the world. Gary Ginsberg says this fungicide can cause a range of genetic problems in humans. The FDA found up to 35 parts per billion concentrations and this warranted more testing. The chemical gets into orange juice when the oranges are squeezed. The second way is from the flavor additive that is used when we process orange juice and this comes from the peel also. Now the FDA has set a limit of 10 parts per billion and will send back any orange juice with that level. There is no real danger from any of the sources. Dr. Ginsberg says that this is the first time that the FDA has tested for this fungicide and it is their job. To avoid this fungicide altogether, use only US orange juice or 100% organic orange juice.

The second segment deals with boosting your metabolism so you will feel better and focuses on early morning. First, use 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and it is great to boosting your energy. Second, N-Acetyl Cysteine will help boost your immunity and you need 600mg twice a day. Finally, get 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up to rev up your metabolism. Oz says cereal with yogurt, 3 egg omelets, or a powdered protein shake will get you there quickly so your body starts the day in high gear.

Oz now gives us his “super diet plan” and he has borrowed the best parts of three major diets to come up with his own. First, get rid of the salt you eat. Use Italian seasoning, lemon pepper, and Chinese 5 spice instead of salt. This will help your diet and blood pressure. Second, use tub margarine, wheat germ, sesame seeds, and pistachio nuts will help lower your cholesterol. Finally, eat healthy fats like Olive and Canola oil, sardines, and nuts. Any nut is fine as long as you take them moderately.

Doctor Oz gets Lidia Bastianich on the show to give us tips on how to make great Italian Food that will keep the bad carbs away. She is making a traditional Pesto dish. Use tomatoes, basil, almonds, garlic, peperoncino, sea salt and blend in a food processor while drizzling in olive oil for a great pesto sauce. Use whole wheat pasta and parmigiano. This is a great easy recipe that gives you real Italian Flavor and is healthy. Mix the sauce with the pasta and add a few ground up herbs and cheese. This recipe is half the calories of a regular pesto dish in the US.

The final segment is gadgets that will help keep you healthy and cost under $30 dollars. The Oster Myblend Blender and is has a container that doubles as a cup to carry with you. Next, we see the Eatsmart digital food scale to measure out your food portions perfectly. Finally, the Mastred magic chip maker and it makes perfect chip slices and it has a microwave tray that makes great and healthy chips because there is no oil. All of these products will help keep you on track and won’t break your wallet.

The show ends with Oz giving us one more tip. Use ice cube trays to make smoothie cubes and you have a great healthy snack anytime. You can go to the official Dr. Oz web site to register for free prizes and get more info on all of the topics discussed today by following the link below.

Finally, An iPhone Case With a Built-In Virtual Keyboard

Celluon turned several heads during the last couple of years thanks to their unique laser projected keyboards. Specifically, the Magic Cube has been a hot ticket item for anyone wanting to escape the cramped confines of a touchscreen interface, due to its ability to create a full-sized typing tool on almost any surface. But for iPhone users who don't want the added clutter of another gadget, Celluon's pushing a new all-in-one solution -- the Prodigy.

Tech blog Pocket-lint got some hands-on time with the Prodigy at CES, where the floor model was spotted in both white and black. As far as functionality, it's a three-solution problem for anyone who might find themselves in a situation where a lot of typing is needed and no laptop is in sight. Aside from the laser technology that creates the keyboard itself, the Prodigy boosts battery life and acts as a makeshift stand, like any good iPhone case should.

Pocket-lint was able to test the new virtual keyboard at CES in Las Vegas and can report back that it works so long as you can type cleanly. What we mean by that is that, as soon as you start dragging your fingers, the system struggles to recognise your key inputs and types something else. Users might also find it hard to type without any tactile feedback.

If people could get used to the tiny typing surfaces of devices like the touchscreen phones and the BlackBerry, moving back to a wider surface area shouldn't be much of problem once you get used to the precise typing motions required. Although the Prodigy reportedly won't work on a glass table or reflective surface, it should come in handy when your laptop's battery is dry and you need to work on a long flight. Now that the Magic Cube's technology can be incorporated into an iPhone case, perhaps the next logical step for Celluon should be integrating it into a smartphone... without an accessory?

Either way, bear in mind that the Prodigy doesn't come cheap. Pocket-lint says the accessory will sell for 150 pounds, which is roughly 230 dollars in U.S. currency. For that price, you buy just about any smartphone with a two-year plan and stick to the touchscreen.

THIS TOO SHALL PASS: “The Impatient Patient ”

I hurt my lower back at work on New Year's Eve preventing two patients from falling. On suggestion by my supervisor, I have made an appointment at the occupational therapy clinic at the local hospital for today, as the condition is not as better by now as it should be. I will not be going to work tonight which is good for my back but not for my mind.

My job is enjoyable, and my coworkers fun. I will be stuck at home not even able to do housework which involves lifting anything beyond standing in one place.

One can never push the “pause” button in life, so it just keeps on going, and these days faster than ever! I am remembering all the times I have said, “I wish I could just sit and read a book once in a while!”

I will be much more careful what I wish for in the future! Of course, I say that now.

Caretakers usually make very bad patients. We are supposed to take care of others, not the reverse! I detest asking anyone to do anything for me, and I only ask if it's something I am not able to do myself. Just the other day I asked Tim to show me he checks transmission fluid so that I can keep an eye on it myself in the future. I like being as self sufficient as possible, and have been since I was a little girl.

All I can see around me as I let my gaze take in the living room and part of the kitchen from here at the computer, are the things I left undone last week, which I dearly wish I had made time to finish then! Perhaps I need one of those fuzzy sleep blindfolds to make it all just disappear for a while?

I am also worrying about how my absence at work tonight will affect my coworkers who are already stretched to the limit by the many needs of our many patients. I hope this works out to give someone a little overtime!

It is 8:26 tonight after the appointment. A very nice Nurse Practitioner diagnosed my problem as “unspecified back disorders, Piriformis Strain”. Say what? Another term for pulled muscle...

I have a physical therapy intake on Monday afternoon to plan the strategy of relaxing the ornery muscle. WHEN will the actual therapy begin? The muscle will be fine sooner than all the paperwork is done!

In the past, we all who are caretakers, have had a pulled muscle, a sore shoulder, painful feet, scratches and even bites! Ours is not an easy job, but it's a very rewarding one, just not for the faint of heart.

It's good that there are places to go to for help with such things as pulled muscles. The Nurse told me to fill a water bottle half way and freeze it and sit on it, and roll around on it which will help the muscle to release. Chiropractors do adjustments to make a muscle spasm release, and usually it is possible to use an ice cube to freeze each end of a cramped muscle to make it release, but the muscle giving me trouble is apparently a large one deep in the area which has many connections which make it hard to use an ice cube. The frozen water bottle appears to be working just fine as I sit on it whilst typing.

Since I work part time, I will have used up my few vacation hours after Monday. It's amazing good luck that this is my weekend off. I can only imagine the horror of this situation for my coworkers who have small children to support and health insurance to pay for. This event is making me wonder if I should get one of those Aflak ducks we see on TV who come and hand us cash when we are out of work through injury! I always did like ducks...

I find all my focus is right there under the water bottle and the momentary chaos it has all caused. AGH! How easily the mind wraps itself around things. Even when I walk, I am conscious of moving in as normal a way as I can so as not to throw my left side off through over compensation of favoring the sore right side.

As the world turned last night, and God knows what was going on s far as wars, killings, fires, newly discovered germs to worry about, I have been blissfully just thinking about my muscle. We humans are odd indeed. If I was a cat or dog, I would just be curled up as comfy as possible, asleep right now allowing my human companion all the stress!

This is a good time to say the affirmation, “Every day in every way, I'm getting better and better!” I can say it truthfully too as the water bottle works it's magic.

Lat might I took a break from focusing on me and my problem to say some prayers and send Reiki to a growing list or prayer requests.

There is a little local girl named Zoe who is 2 months old, who is in a Boston hospital fighting for her life right now, and many others who are having genuine concerns.

'I killed Vinnie Jones - in front of my kids' says Jamelia

POP star Jamelia has revealed how she murdered Vinnie Jones – in front of her children.

The Birmingham singer is making her acting debut in a movie starring tough guys Vinnie and Celebrity Big Brother star Michael Madsen.

But it was unfortunate timing when she had to gun down Vinnie, just as her daughters arrived on the Hungarian film set of Magic Boys.

Jamelia, who is single and mum to six-year-old Tiani and Teja, 10, said: “It was quite a harrowing day.

“My kids had just flown over with my mom and wanted to see me at work. What they saw was me as a murderer.

“I had to explain to them what was happening and show them that the fake blood was just syrup, and nothing to be scared of.

“It’s quite a claim to fame, to say ‘I’ve killed Vinnie Jones!’

“He was fantastic, though, and really helped me in my first acting role. I was playing an air hostess avenging her father’s murder.

“The shoot lasted for three months in Hungary and I got to do lots of different things, including a couple of kissing scenes which I hated! It was with a Hungarian actor who couldn’t speak English, a complete stranger who I didn’t fancy.

“They say you get used to doing those intimate scenes but I never did. I’d like to try more acting, though.

“Michael Madsen was really funny but I was very surprised to see him in Celebrity Big Brother. It’s not the sort of thing I thought he’d do.”

Jamelia turned 31 last week and celebrated with a pamper day at Birmingham’s swankiest new spa, The Club and Spa at The Cube development in the city centre.

Brought up in a council house in inner city Hockley, Jamelia has never left the Midlands and now lives in the smart village of Barnt Green.

A year ago she made the Channel 4 documentary The House That Made Me, in which she had an emotional reunion with the father who walked out on her as a child.

She hadn’t seen convicted armed robber Donald Williams for seven years but wanted to tell him what a traumatic effect his absence has had on her life and that of her brothers, two of whom are in prison after gang-related shootings.

Now she plans to make another TV documentary on the subject of absent fathers.

“I want to show them the effect it has on the children and what the women they leave behind have to go through,” explains Jamelia, who has also been asked to make a documentary about mothers in prison.

“I could never leave my children so I don’t understand how men can. I think some just don’t understand the consequences of their actions. My father was genuinely surprised when I told him how much pain he’d caused me.

“I have spoken to him since we met again but not seen him. I feel like I’ve got closure and it’s a relationship I don’t need to have now.”

Jamelia’s hit Superstar was one of the most played songs of the Noughties, and she is currently recording her first album in four years.

“I hope to release a single in the next couple of months and an album in September,” she adds.

“I’m working with people who have produced Rihanna and Mary J Blige. It’s the longest album I’ve taken to make, and the longer it takes, the more I worry about whether it’s right.”

Apple iPhone Battery Case With Infrared Keyboard

CES is not only about smartphones, Ultrabooks and tablets (although all those are what attract us), but also about a lot of upcoming accessories. The Celluon Prodigy is a new battery case for the iPhone 4 and 4S with an intriguing concept.

Obviously, the first thing to say about the Prodigy is that it can be used to charge your iPhone. What sets this new case apart from all the other iPhone battery cases is that the Prodigy can project an interactive infrared keyboard onto any flat surface.

You will be able to type emails and messages on the infrared keyboard, provided your iPhone is propped up stably on a table or desk. It’s that simple. Although you might be managing to type fast on a virtual keyboard, the Prodigy might help you do it better. Or will it?

The prototype that is being shown off at CES has a lot of work to be done on it. First of all, the Prodigy’s infrared projector and attached camera (for detecting where your finger is when it cuts through the infrared beam and what key you are hitting) make it slightly longer. Although you can adjust with that, you might not tolerate the bigger problem.

Our guys at CES found out that the Prodigy was not good at telling what key was being hit. For example, just imagine you typing the word Duck and it ending up as something else, if you know what I mean.

Although the company’s reps said that it’s just a matter of getting used to the new keyboard, they also seemed to be finding it difficult to type. And it’s not because it’s a prototype, as their Magic Cube does the same thing for the iPad and we can’t say its better.

They will be releasing the case in the coming months with a price tag close to $189.95. About $100 more than most battery cases out there. Interested?

The concept is cool and might be paving the way for something awesome for the future. But for now, we recommend you to stick to the touchscreen.  Check out Prodigy’s predecessor, the Magic Cube in the video below.

Charm and magic in proportion

ANIMATOR Hiromasa Yonebayashi found out, in the most direct way possible, about a new project at the legendary Japanese production house Studio Ghibli. He was called into a meeting and handed a copy of a classic English children's tale called The Borrowers, by Mary Norton. He was told that this was the next Ghibli film. Then he was asked if he would direct it.

The man who gave him the book and the opportunity was none other than the founder of Studio Ghibli, master director Hayao Miyazaki. Yonebayashi, who started at the company in 1996 and had worked on a number of its most famous films, said no at first. He tells me, via email, that he'd never thought of directing, and didn't think he was capable of it. Finally, he decided that he wanted the challenge. ''Once the actual work started, nerves and anxiety took over,'' he says, but he had plenty of help from the veterans of the studio, ''and together we were able to create the film''.

Norton's book, the first of a series, was published in 1952. It tells the story of a young girl and her family who live, unobserved, in a country house - they are, after all, only a few centimetres tall. Their home is under the floorboards, and they survive by a kind of scavenging and recycling - they call it ''borrowing''. They take only things whose disappearance will go unnoticed: a sugar cube, a cotton reel, a piece of tissue paper. They are terrified of being seen.

But there is a new figure in the human household, a frail boy who has come to rest before a serious operation. He arrives just as the youngest member of the family, 14-year-old Arrietty, is being prepared for the adventure of life as a Borrower.

Miyazaki had been wanting to make a film of The Borrowers for more than 40 years. It's a much-adapted story that has been turned into live-action movies, a TV series and a new BBC film released for Christmas 2011. For Ghibli's Arrietty, the location was changed to an old house in Tokyo. Otherwise, much of the story remains the same - an exploration of the parallel world of little people, and of what happens when their existence is threatened.

There's a wonderful, imaginatively precise sense of detail, although Yonebayashi says that the filmmakers allowed themselves a certain creative leeway. If Arrietty is 10 centimetres tall, he says, then the cockroach that tries to attack her is much bigger than it really should be. And when she makes her first visit beyond the world of her home under the floorboards, the kitchen she discovers is also much larger. Yet there is a way in which it is accurate - its size reflects the sense of wonder that she feels and her impression of being overwhelmed. ''The strength of animation,'' he says, ''is that you are allowed to fake or exaggerate scale and proportion.''

Everyday objects, recycled by the resourceful family, take on new significance. There were several examples of this in the script, according to Yonebayashi: a pin that Arrietty turns into a sword, double-sided tape, a walkway made out of nails. Much of the rest, he says, he added in storyboarding, ''and the staff did a great job realising it on screen''.

The close contact that the Borrowers have with their environment brings certain things into relief, he adds. They notice things that a human would not, such as ''small prickles around leaves, bumps on a brick's surface''. And it's important to bring this to the viewer's notice, he says. ''I believe that if we also pay attention and include such details, then a world that no ordinary person has ever seen'' can come to life.

Sound, too, was important. The music in Arrietty comes from a young Breton singer and harpist called Cecile Corbel, who loves Ghibli films. No one at the studio knew her, but she happened to send a CD of her songs as a token of her appreciation. To him, the sound of the Celtic harp is ''heart-rendingly cute, and an exact match for the world of Arrietty.''

This iPhone 4S Battery Case Also Projects An Interactive Infrared Keyboard On Any Surface

Texting on the iPhone’s 3.7-inch touchscreen is about as good as you can expect, but wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to fit a full-size keyboard in there for good measure?

Celluon thinks there’s a way to do just that with the Prodigy, a Juice Pack style battery case for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s with one interesting trick up its sleeve: it can project an interactive infrared keyboard onto any flat surface.

In theory, this means effortless typing as long as you can prop your iPhone up on a table or desk. The reality, though? Stick to texting.

We stopped by the Celluon booth in the iLounge pavilion to get a quick hands-on with the Prodigy, their latest prototype, which they hope to start shipping in the next three months. It’s good that they have time, because the whole shebang is not ready for prime time.

There are both conceptual and functional problems with Prodigy in our brief time with it. For one thing, while the case is as svelte as other battery cases, it’s a great deal longer thanks to the infrared projecting beam and attached camera, which tries to extrapolate where your finger is when it cuts through the beam and what key you meant to hit.

The problem is the Prodigy isn’t very good at telling what key you’re trying to type. It’s a frustrating experience, which reps from Celluon tried to just hand-wave away as a learning experience, but even they seemed scarcely much better at typing anything of length on their product.

And the issue isn’t just one of it being a prototype, because Celluon has another product already on the market called the Magic Cube that does the same thing for iPad and scarcely functions any better.

So what do we have here? As a concept, the Prodigy is intriguing, but the actuality sort of stinks. Given that Celluon thinks the Prodigy will cost $189.95 when it is finally released — which is at least $110 more than most battery cases — it’s hard to imagine this being the next step into the future of smartphone typing.

Trees - the best story keepers

There was a time when I was very young, when I used to carve a ‘hi’ in the bark of the coconut tree sitting proudly in our garden. I would come to the tree, as soon as I wake up the very next morning just to see whether the tree has written a reply ‘hi’ for me. There was no reply. But I was never disappointed, surprisingly. For the way the coconut leaves moved and rattled as if by magic whenever I touched its bark, I concluded that was its note of ‘hi’ because the tree knew no letters like me; because the tree was taught at no school. Call it a kid’s eccentricity, but I loved conversing with that tree.

We shifted residencies then. But upon visiting our old home, with the small garden where my old friend still resides elegantly, just days prior, all my recollections were stirred. I couldn’t help but find myself soaked in a few lines of a poem written by Rabindranath Tagore -O you shaggy-headed banyan tree standing on the bank of the pond,have you forgotten the little child,like the birds that have nested in your branches and left you?

If the tree could voice out feeling, I thought, what would he say? Wouldn’t he recall the deeply secretive thoughts the little boy shared? Wouldn’t he show the wounded branches that held the swing the boy loved to rock in? Wouldn’t he still smile lovingly at the soft word-silence exchanges made betwixt the boy and his lover, back then?

That is not it. He will list every day, I am sure, sunlight failed to bathe him; every day heavy grey clouds floated above him dripping huge drops of water like bullets; every day a storm hugged him arrogantly and lightning cut sharply through his veins; every day of his growth, and yes, ours too.

Wandering in such thought, I halted at one point. When trees of this sort that have stood for decades are being wantonly cut down, as on the modern day, quite easily, is it only wood and leaves we bring down? What about the people who have touched those trees? What about the histories that are carved in those barks? What about the blood stains of the heroes who are no longer sung? What about the number of breaths in the air within them? What about the homes nested in those massive branches? What about the nourishment it willingly gifts to the fellow inhabitants of this land?

Where are we heading? In 2010 Environment Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said that about 300 trees had to be destroyed to produce the number of posters being put up by each of the political candidates in their propaganda. In 2011, many trees had to sacrifice their lives to the cause of developing Colombo or in the name of beautification of the city. Let alone those of no importance as landmarks, historically and religiously, those trees that only know the dust of roads, conversations of common man and have eye witnessed every day accidents from mild to horrendous, at least those that bear a significant importance to this country should be well protected.

We have already murdered many trees of high importance till date - Historical Banyan (Nuga) tree at Denipitiya, associated with the Poetess Gajaman Nona, giant Pus-wela (Woody Liana) in Hunuwila, Opanayaka, and Ebony tree, Malabe both of which are famous landmarks. Recently, even the sandalwood tree, over 50 years of age at the Bandaranayake Ayurveda Research Centre (BARC), was brought down. Let us note that these are only a few examples.

The Woodland Trust, Britain, initiated a project in 2004, ‘The Ancient tree hunt’. According to them, The Ancient Tree Hunt (ATH) involves thousands of people in finding and mapping all the fat, old trees across the UK and is right at the heart of the Woodland Trust’s ancient tree conservation work. It will create a comprehensive living database of ancient trees and it’s the first step towards cherishing and caring for them.

When a ministry spokesperson said, few months prior, regarding the construction of a road cutting through a section of the Sinharaja Forest  which is a world heritage site and the only primary rain forest in Sri Lanka, “Minister Yapa is of the view that the road development across the protected forest range would damage the bio-diversity and natural habitat and therefore gave instructions to suspend it with immediate effect,” I thought to myself, we can still trust the authorities and forestry officials, to some extent, at least.

I cannot predict the fate of these beautiful story keepers - our trees. What I am certainly aware of though is the fact that, WE, together CAN boldly defend the beings that carry the country’s histories in every cube of their beings.

Returning from the long thought voyage to the present, drinking sweet coconut water welcomingly served by my coconut tree, after years of parting and meeting again, I asked finally, “have you forgotten the little child, like the birds that have nested in your branches and left you?” When the leaves moved and rattled, in that familiar tone, I got my answer, and that is enough. At least for me. It is then did I pledge that I will never let him be murdered. Not in my lifetime.

Where the heavyweights of ice carving indulge in fantasy

Curiously, Craig McConnell’s oversized checked luggage raises no alarm among airport security personnel, even though it contains chainsaws, chisels, angle grinders, blow torches, household irons, and die grinders with all sorts of bits and burrs. Maybe the handwritten note inside helps: "These are my tools for ice carving. Please be careful - some of them are sharp. I am traveling to Lake Louise, Alberta, for an ice-carving competition."

Every January, The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, one of Canada’s grand old railway hotels, hosts the Ice Magic International Ice Carving Competition, where a dozen two-person teams gather on the frozen shores of Lake Louise to create fantastic sculptures. Each team has 34 hours to shape 15 massive blocks of ice into a soaring sculpture related to a specific theme. Last year’s "Magical Madness" theme inspired artists to produce fanciful renderings of sorcerers, dragons, and mythical gods. This year’s more conceptual theme, "WordPlay: Where language comes out to play," will bring storytelling alive in the form of pirates, a fairy, and other elaborately carved structures. The competition runs Jan. 20-22 as part of the Ice Magic Festival.

"It’s really a wonderful medium to express yourself and be creative," says Norm Flann, a carver from the Canadian team Crushed Ice. "Ice is soft and the tools you use let you carve it so easily, unlike stone."

Each giant "ice cube" weighs 300 pounds, meaning the work can be physically grueling.

"We’ll help each other lift blocks and everyone will work together," says McConnell, a former chef at the Ritz-Carlton, Boston Common, and now owner of Images in Ice, a Brockton-based ice-carving business. McConnell and his partner, Gene Shea, met five years ago at a Faneuil Hall competition, and they have been doing the Lake Louise event together ever since. "Last year, we helped one of the teams lift a mushroom cap that was made out of a full block of ice. We showed them a trick for lifting it using tie-down straps that we wrapped around the ice."

Ice carving at Lake Louise dates to 1994, when the Fairmont’s chef and culinary friends pulled blocks of ice from the lake and carved them into sculptures for fun, according to Micaela Zagozewski, event manager for the Ice Magic Festival. "The event has grown ever since."

Now, more than 7,000 people attend each year. Visitors can watch some of the world’s top ice carvers at work, and ask them questions throughout the competition. This year’s participants will have traveled from the Netherlands, Britain, Russia, the United States, and Canada.

The carvers also come from remarkably different backgrounds: One used to work as executive chef at The Fairmont Empress, a renowned high-end hotel in Victoria, British Columbia. Another works as a mail carrier in rural Washington State, and has competed in ice-carving events at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Nagano, and Salt Lake City. And another, Ben Rand of Casco, Maine, helps run an ice-carving business in West Palm Beach, Fla., of all places, producing upward of 1,000 sculptures a year for local restaurants and businesses. Rand trained as a five-star classic chef and then became a full-time ice carver. He and his carving partner, Scott Harrison, won first place in last year’s Ice Magic event for their Harry Potter entry.

Two of the 24 entrants are women, one of whom is Stephanie Quayle from the United Kingdom.

"In terms of male-female ratios, there’s definitely a big hairy man bias," says Quayle, who teams up with her fiance, Darren Jackson. "I suppose it’s only natural, due to the nature of the work and the temperatures we have to endure, but I like to think we girls can do it just as well - we just need a lot more hot chocolate to keep us going."

Competitors cannot use gas chain saws or lathes, and they may only work from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday.

"I’ve never competed when I didn’t carve until the last second," says Jeff Bleier, a former carver who now runs a restaurant in Rochester, and helps judge the Lake Louise competition. "I’ve been 6 feet up on a ladder putting on the last piece with three seconds to go."

Teams must use all the ice they are allotted, and cannot supplement with natural snow or other materials - no props, decorations, or coloring of ice - though they may use water. The entries must be carved on all sides.

The first day, carvers organize and stack their hefty ice blocks. Many attach enlarged templates, much like a seamstress’s pattern, onto the blocks to ensure that they use all the ice and don’t waste anything, and so they can labor away without having to stop and calculate measurements. Then they fire up chainsaws and start carving.

"The most important thing about ice sculpture is that you have to create a piece with a strong silhouette or outline," says Rand. "It’s difficult to see things that overlap each other in ice, so instead of folded arms, you want to have arms that are spread apart. This also helps the sculpture appear more fluid and dynamic."

The creations must measure at least 7 feet tall, but no more than 13 1/2 feet, in order to create a challenge for artists while keeping the competition zone safe. Small chisels and drills create more intricate patterns that resemble fish scales, hieroglyphics, or razor-sharp claws.

On day two, each team sends someone down the hill to the Village of Lake Louise to participate in the One Carver, One Hour, One Block event. Each artist can create anything he or she wants from one 300-pound block of ice during this speed-carving competition.

"One is like a marathon, the other is like a sprint," says Rand. "They’re just two different ways to approach the ice."

The festival also includes ice-carving demonstrations by lead judge Dan Rebholtz, a judges’ "carve-off" at the Lake Louise Ski Area, horse-drawn wagon rides around the lake, and ice skating with a fabulous view (weather permitting) of the Victoria Glacier.

As the hourglass empties up at Lake Louise, carvers put on the final touches: They use hairdryers and blow torches to put a polished shine on certain areas of their sculptures, and they clean up their work stations.

Works are judged on their level of complexity and overall creative intent, and how well carvers used the ice and their tools. Carvers get points for hiding seams, and for creating sculptures that appear more three dimensional and that stretch the boundaries of what ice can do, such as creating something that looks like it may fall over but is so masterfully engineered that it won’t.

"We’ll often put supports [made of ice] underneath the pieces that hang out, so the vibration from carving the rest of the sculpture doesn’t destroy them," Rand explains. "With the Harry Potter sculpture we did last year, we had at least 1,000 to 1,500 pounds supported on a 7-inch circle, which was the dog’s right paw. The whole thing had a temporary support. In the last 15 minutes, you start cutting those supports out and the sculpture either survives or it crashes. It can be pretty nerve-racking."

Judges award third, second, and first prize, with a $1,000 to $3,000 purse. And sculptures can win the People’s Choice, Carver’s Choice, and Children’s Choice awards, with $500 or $1,000 in cash prizes.

This year, Ice Magic extends to the following weekend, Jan. 28-29, with family-oriented events. You can take a look at the finished creations from the previous weekend, and then attend the Little Chippers Festival, where children of any age can try their hands at ice carving. A new ice playground features ice miniature golf, an ice tunnel, and an ice slide. You can also watch a professional 10-block ice-carving event, or go skating on Lake Louise with the ice queen - all free events.

McConnell and Shea plan to fly their oversized bags up north and compete again this year. Just look for the intricately carved arch, the pirates, and the daring and creative twist on Pandora’s box.

"Sometimes carvers stop where it’s safe, when they could have taken their work further and created a more dynamic and lifelike piece," says McConnell. "You can’t do that in competition. It’s like when you’re skiing and your tips go over the edge and you’re looking down some crazy slope. The more you think, the more you’re going to get into trouble. I always say to myself: Forget it. Just do it."

Diet and exercise are important

It seems like no matter what I do, my dog continues to gain weight. I have tried cutting down on the amount of food I feed her, and she still looks heavy. She acts like we are starving her to death. I want us both to lose some weight as a New Year's resolution. Do you have any suggestions on how to get some pounds off my dog without me feeling like I'm mistreating her?

The majority of dogs that enter my practice have at least a little bit of extra weight on them. According to a very popular food company's study, 80 percent of American pets are overweight.

There is no magic potion or pill that will fix your pet. Just like in humans, diet and exercise are going to be your best bet.

The first step is to really evaluate what your dog is eating every day. A good way to get honest with yourself is to write down everything you feed your pet. Also, have all the other people living around or interacting with your pet write down what they are feeding her, too. You might think she is only getting two treats a day, but that is just from you. What about your spouse or children? Are they all giving treats, too?

Picking a diet or low calorie food is your next step. Look at the back of your dog food bag. Feed for the weight you want your dog to be, not the weight your dog currently is. If you feed treats throughout the day, take away some of the regular food you feed to make up for the calories she is getting in her treats.

Eliminating fatty human foods is a must. A cube of cheese might not seem like a lot of extra calories to you, but for your pet it will really add up quickly. A couple of potato chips or the last bite of your hamburger makes a big difference in your pet's diet. You have to remember that 100 extra calories for your 2,000 calorie diet isn't much, but 100 extra calories in a dog that has a 600 calorie diet is a lot. If you must feed human foods, unsalted green beans make great treats. Canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix) makes a great additive to the food that increases fiber and makes your pet feel fuller.

Finally, remember that your pet needs to burn off the calories it is consuming. Regular exercise is very important.

If you are just starting an exercise program, start slowly. A couple of trips around the block or up and down the stairs might be all your pet can handle when you start out. You can increase the amount or time spent exercising as you go along. The same food company has found that regular exercise can extend your pet's life span by a couple of years, not to mention the benefits they get for bone and joint health.

World Famous V.I.P. Records To Close

It's a smoggy afternoon in Long Beach. World Famous V.I.P. Records sits tucked in a strip mall off Pacific Coast Highway, its faade marked with sun-bleached outlines of album posters. The store's iconic record-shaped sign still stands tall, though it could use a paint job. Speakers in the doorway, meanwhile, blare '90s R&B.

The shop is open, but it's empty, which is par for the course lately. That's why after 33 years in business, owner Kelvin Anderson was scheduled to close V.I.P.'s doors for good this past weekend.

Taking calls behind the register on his Bluetooth, the 57-year-old Anderson wears a polo shirt, frameless glasses and a neatly trimmed goatee. He hardly looks ready to retire, yet there's resignation in his voice. "I waited way too long to try to reinvent us," he says.

V.I.P. Records hasn't turned a profit since 2003 — the year iTunes launched — and began accruing debt about five years later. Anderson says he and his son, Kelvin Jr., with whom he runs the store, can no longer afford to pay their rent and utility bills.

V.I.P. has undergone several downsizings in the past decade. The store's original entrance on PCH now leads into a vacant storefront next door, and the wall that divides the two spaces is crowded with sunglasses, hats, jewelry, incense burners — anything to help counter dismal CD sales.

Record stores have been shuttering all over the country, but the fall of V.I.P. is particularly dispiriting. After all, "World Famous" isn't an affectation; V.I.P. is iconic in the annals of West Coast gangsta rap. It housed the studio where Snoop Dogg, Warren G and Nate Dogg — then a trio known as 213 — recorded the demo that led to their big breaks. The rooftop sign has been the backdrop for videos including Snoop's "Who Am I (What's My Name)" and Jermaine Dupri's "Welcome to Atlanta" remix.

Taking a seat on the in-store performance stage — which has been graced over the years by artists such as Nate Dogg and LL Cool J — Anderson discusses the establishment's 1990s heyday, during which it hosted standing-room-only record signings and concerts.

The store also has played a key role in breaking urban artists, even those who never stepped through its doors. It once served as a tastemaker for the neighborhood and even for Los Angeles as a whole.

At one point, the V.I.P. name was attached to a dozen outposts in Southern California. The chain's original location in South Central was founded by Anderson's older brother Cletus in the late 1960s; it specialized in gospel, Motown and R&B.

After graduating from high school in Brandon, Miss., in 1972, a teenage Anderson followed Cletus to Los Angeles and got into the business. Together they opened V.I.P.'s Long Beach location — their 12th — in 1978; Anderson bought it shortly thereafter.

"Some kids go to college, but I got my degree in the music industry working at V.I.P.," he says.

In the '70s and '80s V.I.P. distributed albums and housed two labels, Magic Disc Records and Saturn Records, the latter of which put out Ice-T's 1982 debut single, "The Coldest Rap."

By the next decade, V.I.P. was an urban-music powerhouse. Eugene Luckett, a former retail marketing and distribution executive for Polygram, BMG and Capitol, has worked with Anderson for 15 years and describes him as instrumental to the success of artists he handled, including Warren G, Notorious B.I.G., TLC and Whitney Houston.

"In the '90s all the labels wanted the next West Coast gangsta rapper," Luckett says. "Kelvin was a portal for executives who didn't know anything about those artists."

Label reps like him relied on Anderson to tell them who was hot and how to market new albums to urban communities like Long Beach. After all, Anderson always seemed to understand what those audiences wanted to hear.

"He could get 1,000 people to show up to an in-store with minimal advertising," Luckett says. "That truly speaks to his bond with the community."

By the early '90s, West Coast hip-hop was taking over, and the kids visiting the store wanted in. Anderson enlisted the help of L.A. producer Sir Jinx to build an in-store recording studio, in part to bolster what he calls V.I.P.'s role as a "safe haven" for young people in the community.

Fresh off the success of Ice Cube's first two solo records, Jinx brought Anderson to his cousin Dr. Dre's house and showed him an SP1200 drum machine. "That was all you needed to make a hip-hop record in those days," Anderson recalls.

With Jinx's help, he soon transformed the store's back storage room into a veritable musical playground for the local kids.

Snoop and 213 recorded a demo there — "[V.I.P.] gave us life," Snoop recently told Current TV — and Anderson was struck by their sound. "They were something totally unique," he says. "You had Snoop's smooth delivery, which you could enjoy even without music to back it up, and you had , who was incorporating hooks right into the raps. That was brand new."

Cubitek Magic Cube im Gehusetest

Bei dem Cubitek Magic Cube handelt es sich um ein modulares Alu-Gehuse, das Festplattenkfig und den Schacht fr optische Laufwerke in separate Cubes auslagert. Garniert mit einer hochwertigen Aluminium-Konstruktion bei makelloser Verarbeitung, macht Cubitek dem Aluminium-Pionier Lian Li Konkurrenz. Ob Cubitek dem Konkurrenten mit dem PC-Gehuse aus Alu Paroli bieten kann, analysiert unser heutiger Test.

Nachdem wir uns bereits vor einigen Monaten einen taiwanischen Edelwrfel aus dem Hause Lian Li genauer angesehen haben, folgt mit dem heutigen Test die Fortsetzung in Form des Tests zum Alu-Gehuse Cubitek Magic Cube. Dabei teilen sich die edlen PC-Gehuse einige Gemeinsamkeiten – beide bestehen aus Aluminium, beide kommen aus Taiwan und beide sind fr das hochpreisige Gehuse-Segment angedacht. Whrend Lian Li mit dem PC-V353 die HTPC-Herzen zu gewinnen versucht, handelt es sich beim Cubitek Magic Cube um ein modulares Aluminium-Gehuse, bestehend aus zwei kleineren "Cubes" (Module) und einem Hauptgehuse.

Cubitek verspricht dadurch mehr Flexibilitt, eine bessere Khlung und eine angenehme Geruschkulisse. Der Hersteller ist dabei mit der Zeit gegangen und verpasst dem Magic Cube moderne Schnittstellen und hochwertige Lfter. Mit gengend Platz fr High-End-Hardware, einem edlen Finish und dem Einsatz von hochpreisigen Materialien sollen vor allem die besser gestellte Interessenten endgltig neugierig gemacht werden. Aber auch Hauptkonkurrent Lian Li soll mit Cubiteks Gehuseoffensive unter Druck geraten. Das Know-How hierzu ist zumindest vorhanden, hat doch Cubiteks CEO lange beim genannten Konkurrenten Erfahrungen sammeln knnen. Ob dies im Falle des Magic Cubes gelingt und ob das ungewhnliche Konzept aufgeht, werden wir auf den nachfolgenden Seiten untersuchen.

A Return to Collecting

When the Braves exited the playoffs with a whimper in 2005, I’m certain that I wasn’t the only one who believed we had just witnessed the end of the streak of division championships. That’s not a knock on the 2005 team. After all, many of us thought the streak would end before the 2005 season had even begun. Instead, led and inspired by the Baby Braves, a group of rookies including Brian McCann and Jeff Francouer, the Braves would take the division lead on July 22 and not relinquish it. It was an exciting season highlighted by McCann’s home run off Roger Clemens in the division series.

Still, this Braves team was no longer the lock to win the division they had been for so much of the streak. The offense seemed to be fine. Andruw Jones looked to be hitting the peak of his career. Chipper Jones remained one of the best players in the league when he was healthy. Adam LaRoche was showing a lot of pop and a lot of promise. McCann and Francouer had the look of future stars. There was little doubt that the Braves would continue to score runs. It was the pitching staff that was a cause for concern.

The Braves backbone throughout their run of division championships was their starting pitching. Even if the quality of the starting staff had diminished a bit towards the end of the run, the staff was still better than most. It was almost like there was a magical quality to pitching for the Braves. Even Russ Ortiz was a somewhat productive starter while in a Braves uniform. Of course, the true backbone was the three future Hall of Fame pitchers: Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz.

Of course, Smoltz was the only pitcher of the trio to remain in a Braves uniform at the end of the 2005 season. The rest of the rotation was a question mark. The Braves had no idea when Mike Hampton would return from injury. Tim Hudson looked to be slipping from his form with the A’s. It was possible that Horacio Ramirez, Chuck James and Kyle Davies would turn into first rate starters, and it was also possible that they would remain wildly inconsistent and a source of constant frustration. The years when the Braves were anchored by three Hall of Fame starters were becoming a distant memory.

When I first started collecting baseball cards in the late 1970s, it was easy. There was one set of any note put out each year. The Topps base set was the entire hobby. That would change in 1981 when Fleer and Donruss would enter the business. Still, three major sets a year wasn’t a difficult task. Sure, it meant my allowance money got spread around a bit more and left me far shorter of the cards I needed to complete the Topps set, but all three manufacturers were putting out quality product. Score started pushing out sets in 1988 and Upper Deck followed with their on line in 1989. Topps resurrected the Bowman brand as an individual product. It was no longer possible for a set collector on a High School budget to keep buying as many baseball cards as he could find.

While I still bought the occasional pack just for the thrill of opening, I would simply wait until late in the season and buy a few of the sets from the year. The manufacturers had been releasing complete "factory sets" of their cards to retail for a few years. I was now purchasing them every year. It wasn’t as much fun as trying to piece the sets together by hand, but it was easier and less frustrating. Still, the hobby kept changing.

It was Upper Deck who raised the stakes. They used glossy photographs. They used holograms to make their cards harder to counterfeit. They abandoned cardboard. They had the gall to charge a dollar a pack. They sold like gangbusters and the hobby began to spiral out of control. Fleer would introduce their Ultra brand to compete with Upper Deck. Topps would introduce Stadium Club with full bleed color photographs. Prices were on the rise. Speaking for myself, the money I spent on cards didn’t seem to go as far.