It was the year 2000, the start of a new decade and more importantly, a new century. The Y2K panic was over, new developments in technology were well underway, the Elián Gonzalez custody case dominated every news station, and George W. Bush marked the beginning of the end as he was elected U.S. President against Democratic candidate Al Gore.

Pop Culture: Depending on which side you were on, Budweiser either annoyed the shit out of viewers or got people constantly repeating “Wazzzzup” after the release of a new commercial campaign which first aired during Monday Night Football on December 20th, 1999. Reality TV reshaped the way we watched television in 2000, with hits like Survivor and unfortunate flops like Who Wants to Marry to a Millionaire. Favorites at the box office were Gladiator, Meet the Parents, and Cast Away, while Carlos Santana topped the charts after an unbelievable comeback with the release of his album Supernatural in 1999, which later won him nine Grammys.

Sports: While Tiger Woods was winning three of the four Majors, The Yankees won their fourth World Series in five years. The LA Lakers won the first NBA title since 1988, and Venus Williams won her first two majors, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, in addition to her Olympic Gold.

News and Politics: George W. Bush won the 2000 Presidential Elections against Democratic candidate Al Gore, although the outcome was delayed for a month after balloting, to count and re-count the Florida presidential ballots. This whole ordeal even made its way to Hollywood with Recount, a straight-to-TV movie by HBO Films. The Elián Gonzalez custody battle made its way into every newsroom in 2000 after young Elián’s mother drowned while attempting to leave Cuba, which put Elián in a long, drawn out, over publicized custody battle between his father living in Cuba and his U.S. relatives. Gonzalez was later seized from his relatives by Federal agents and returned to his father in Cuba in June 2000.

Gadgets, Fads, and Toys: Forget VHS and corded anything; this was the year that many advanced technologies became affordable for consumers. While DVD players had been around since 1995, few could afford them until the turn of the century. Out with the ’90s, in with the tech. And while we take the term “wireless” for granted in this day and age, going wireless was the new trend of the 2000s with numerous advertisements showcasing digital, hand-held, and wireless devices. Trending were Pokemon trading cards, the newly published Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, flare jeans, and the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire board game.

Purchase your own here:

                             Nasy Gal                                              Dorothy Perkins                                      BB Dakota

Do you like Senses Fail, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, and Relient K? Then you should like Motion City Soundtrack; Justin Pierre, Joshua Cain, Jesse Johnson, Matthew Taylor, and Tony Thaxton create a group that is some weird threesome-love-child of these other bands, but with a slightly more mature sound that bumps them out of the teen-rock genre.

Aside from the fact that lead singer Justin Pierre has a naturally older sounding voice, the stuff they are singing shows that these guys have lived and know a thing or two about a thing or two. The song “This is for Real,” for example, is a love song, but the guy singing isn’t afraid to talk about the rough stuff he’s gone through before he met his perfect girl. He says had some nightmares, clawing at my skin and bones. I nearly did explode. You smoked the demons, gave me back my feelings. Now I am good to go.” Demons and clawing are some pretty intense things; it gives you the impression that this stuff truly is for real. But it still manages to sound upbeat, which makes it a great soundtrack to beach trips, friend hang outs, and other such happy gatherings (it’s also what makes them sound like the guys mentioned earlier). They also have some pretty hilarious videos!! Pierre’s hair alone might give you a small case of the chuckles.

Single Father of Twin Daughters Cleared of Rape Charges.

Paul Rusconi is a famous celebrity photographer who was charged with raping his own daughters last year. The charges were brought up by his distant relatives who he hired as the girls’ nanny. She and her husband accused Rusconi of raping his daughters after seeing pictures of them together in the bathtub. The two girls were put in custody of the nanny and her husband while Rusconi served almost a year term with a $220,000 bail on him. After extensive investigation and two rape kits later, the results were negative and Rusconi was cleared of all charges. He believes they took the girls away because he is a gay single father, but now he’s suing the nanny and her husband, so, great work Rusconi. Way to get your girls back! [Huffington Post]

Image courtesy of Jutarnji

Probably the Coolest Thing You’ve Ever Seen – Quadriplegic Mind Control.

Scientists in Rhode Island have developed a super awesome robotic arm that’s anchored on a table and hooked up to an electrode connected to the brain. This part of the brain, the motor cortex, is controlled the the person, but the limbs coordinated with those desired movements is no longer responsive. This tiny electronic mind control device allows a person’s thoughts to move the robotic arm in time to what the person wants, and it’s pretty efficient for such new technology. The arm has a fully functional hand with separate, bendable digits on a rotating wrist, and it bends and rotates at the elbow as well, as a near replica of the abilities of a human arm. It can pick things up and bring them to you, merely by using thoughts. Outstanding. [Reuters]

Image courtesy of IEN

Good News For Those Who Are Addicted to Coffee:You’ll Be Addicted to It For 14 Years Longer Than Me.

A longitudinal study released its results regarding coffee intake and life expectancy. The researchers studied over 400,000 people ages 50 to 71 starting in 1995, and recorded the age these participants died, and their medical reasons, such as a heart attack, heart disease, etc. They also recorded the amount of coffee the participants drank in order to come up with the conclusion that men who drank two or more cups a day were 10% less likely to die, and women were 16% less likely to die during the study than those who did not drink coffee. Of course, the study was done in mostly isolation so the researchers did not consider other variables such as their diet, amount of exercise, living conditions, family history, and that other extremely relevant stuff. So, to me, I might as well forget I read the article and stick to tea and juice. [Reuters]

Image courtesy of Uncommon Help

JPMorgan Bank Management Kinda Sucks at Managing Banks, World Thinks

President Barack Obama was a guest on The View yesterday where he discussed a few pressing concerns regarding the financial situation of JPMorgan and Chase. Obama commented on how Jamie Dimon, head of JPMorgan, is handling the $2 billion loss of funds, and how the country’s banks are affected by their mistake. This massive mistake, Obama believes, backs up why the notion that Wall Street Reform is necessary in this country in order to secure our money and stability. He credits Dimon as being one of the most skilled and experienced bankers of our day, and says that if he can make this kind of mistake, that it’s possible for smaller banks to do so as well. I’m not sure how many smaller banks are losing $2 billion, but I really hope it’s not many (unless I could possibly put all the money I was going to use to pay off my student debt in an account managed by Dimon, and when the government comes looking for it, I could just tell them that Ol’ Loose Hands Dimon lost it all! They’d believe me). [Huffington Post]

Image courtesy of Guardian.co.uk

Francois Hollande is Sworn in as New President of France! . . . Bien? . . . Je Ne Sais Pas!

He was sworn in yesterday and immediately left France to spend time in Berlin with Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany, to discuss some issues that have been plaguing Europe for a good while now. His conference with Merkel will be of utmost importance as it is his first as president and will certainly affect how his countrymen feel about his leadership abilities. He takes the position from previous leader Sarkozy, who left the country in quite a state for Hollande to attempt to clean up, what with unemployment and poor finances. Their interaction is key in this whole process as it is customary for Sarkozy to entitle Hollande with a few codes and secret papers (maybe written in invisible ink to make it even more mysterious. Rub it with a cut lemon, Hollande!) It is reported that Hollande is to soon appoint Jean-Marc Ayrault as prime minister, and Pierre-Rene Lemas as chief of staff. After all the fancy political stuff, everyone will sit down to a nice lunch and eat french fries and french toast and croissants and crepes and. . .that’s all the stereotype stuff I can think of. Congratulations, Monsieur! [Reuters]

Image courtesy of NYTimes.com

A Popular Trend Amongst Babies is Super Dangerous!

They’re shiny and they’re the size of little candies and they come out of grown up toys. I can clearly understand the appeal to young audiences, but seriously kids. . STOP EATING BUTTON BATTERIES. Reports say that the number of emergency room visits caused by improper use and placement of batteries has drastically increased over the past 20 years, and we can’t just get rid of the battery, can we? No. And being a more watchful, responsible parent clearly isn’t an easy answer when just about every sixth thing in our house is electronic these days. The medical professionals interviewed by Reuters said, “The rate of those injuries almost doubled . . .from about four kids for every 100,000 U.S. children each year, to between seven and eight per 100,000.” A human throat is no place for a battery, but once inside it can start leaking acid and send electrical currents throughout our soft, fleshy insides. So, remember this: kids aren’t smart and put things in their mouth because they’re trying to learn what it is. Don’t let small, cute batteries be one of them. [Reuters]

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Something great can arise from even the most meager beginnings. Yeah, a little corny but true nonetheless. One group that proves this right is the Los Angeles based indie pop trio Lady Danville.

Michael Garner, Matt Frankel, and Dan Chang met in college while singing in an acappella group, and from there they have gone on to create some pretty awesome pop tunes. One classic song (it was released in 2007 on their EP) is “Tired Magician”, a song about a guy who just needs a break from the crazy ups and down of his relationship. As per usual with these kinds of groups, there is an insane amount of harmonies and some nice use of acoustic instruments. And there is just something sweet and gentle about the whole thing.  The new stuff is a little different, more electric guitars and some studio magic provide a wider range of sounds, but that softness still manages to come through. The gem of this recent horde of songs is “Operating” from the 2012 EP of the same name. Essentially it has the same premise as Coldplay’s “Fix You” but without the whiny falsetto and overall slit-your-wrists attitude. All in all, it feels much lighter without taking away from the more serious subject matter. Which pretty much sums Lady Danville up in a nutshell.

He is We features the lovely Rachel Taylor on vocals and the hilarious Trevor Kelly on guitar. They first met while working together at Ted Brown Music in Tacoma, Washington. After a while, work led to jam sessions, which led to more jam sessions, which led to a band. Now the group tours regularly with a complete band in tow, and they have put out countless songs and albums and t-shirts and random moments of hilarity. He is We is kinda like double chocolate cake: their songs are warm and sweet and easy to enjoy, but they still manage to carry a certain level of heaviness. The song “Prove You Wrong” from the group’s My Forever album opens with a nice, light piano and lyrics describing a boy “with a real nice smile but a broken heart inside”. Seems like your typical love song, the girl singing hopes she can mend said broken heart and they will live happily ever after. However, the mood shifts ever so slightly once the chorus starts. The overall sound gets a bit moodier and gives the whole thing a bit of a darker edge to it, like maybe what happened with this guy is more than just a simple break-up, maybe he is really torn up and broken by whatever happened. This undertone of seriousness is what makes the song so awesome; music and vocals mesh well to create a real sense of depth. Other great songs include “Happily Ever After”, “Kiss It Better”, and “All About Us” featuring Aaron Gillespie from Underoath.

Because Showing Your Breasts is Definitely the Way to get Men to Not Treat You Like a Sex Object.

So, Yulia Kovpachik, 23, tried to steal the Henri Delaunay cup this  past Saturday at an opening air viewing, in which she pulled her top down to reveal a message. She couldn’t actually hold the cup because it was so heavy, and  so she ended up falling backward as guards rushed in to get her. I’m not sure how many people were actually roused to join her cause by the message on her stomach so much as they were enthralled that an angry woman was showing her boobs for absolutely free. Kovpachik is a Ukranian feminism activist who doesn’t want European soccer fans to exploit women in Ukraine during the soccer cup. She’s being charged for ‘hooliganism’ and being held by authorities for 15 days. Weird news is still news, I guess. [Reuters]

Image courtesy of Decchanchronicle.com

Teen Mom’s Don’t have to use Responsible Judgment with New Implant.

This is going to sound ridiculous, but Reuters claims it’s true. A good amount of teenagers who get pregnant and give birth are likely to get pregnant again within one year. In fact, out of every 100 girls, 12-49 of them will get pregnant again. What can be done about this that doesn’t involve women acting responsible, let’s just implant little sticks in their arm to prevent them from getting pregnant! Yes! The implants release hormones, which is said to be ingested by the child through breastmilk (SO BAD). It releases these hormones for up to three years. So teen moms still get to have unprotected, risky, wild sex without the fear of popping out another little bun until their first born reaches his third birthday. This is being targeted directly to second time teen moms, but can certainly be used by other women not trying to get pregnant. It’s a good marketing strategy by Merck to make lots of money off of promiscuous young woman not interested in thinking like an adult. [Reuters]

Image courtesy of Telegraph.co.uk

Fast Food Research Study Paying $3,500 for Participants to Become Disgusting.

Scientists in St. Louis are offering participants $3,500 for eating fast food for every meal for 3 months straight. They intend to study obesity and diabetes. One group eats gross food and the researchers see how it affects them compared to a group who doesn’t eat it. Sounds easy enough. Participants have the options of a limited number of fast food places: McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut. Also, participants need to gain 5% of their body weight, so if you weighed 130 pounds, you would need to weigh about 137 pounds. After completing the experiment, they will have the opportunity to be in a weight loss program to help get them back in shape. I don’t know about you, but I honestly don’t think that’s enough money for me to sign up for this. They should do this study in an area where people don’t have access to healthy food and so are forced to eat fast food often and just give them the money. Maybe that’s just me being altruistic. I think the study results will be useful in helping weight disorders, but I guess having to get those results will get messy. Science! [Huffington Post]

Image courtesy of Rawstory.com

Anyone Care About Mitt Romney’s Speech at Liberty University’s Commencement?

Sounds like crickets…Mitt doesn’t give much of a motivational speech here. His jokes fail to get much laughter either (and the laughter that he does get should be in question). He does however express his views about gay marriage and being against it. The 2012 presidential campaign is really heating up as we near the 2012 campaign. I guess avid Mitt fans would be interested in this, so if you are here is the link: youtu.be/uT2HAluw63Q. We’d much rather watch “Will The Real Mitt Romney Please Stand Up (feat. Eminem),” which is featured above.

Ready to take on the world yet?

Ray Lewis Plans Motivational Speaking Tour After Retirement.

Sorry to get your hopes up. That’s unfortunately not true. Tony Robbins would hands-down be put out of business if Ray Lewis got into the business. Ray Lewis, known for his head butting and constant pep-rally-like attitude, has actually been giving some motivational words to the Olympic Gold Medal Swimmer, Michael Phelps. After the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Phelps was going through some stuff and seemed to be losing his passion for swimming. Ray Ray said some powerful words to Phelps and helped him get back in the pool, regaining his passion. Someone needs to make a Ray Lewis App. Don’t forget about us if you make it! [Yahoo! News]

Wristbands Are Annoying!

Ever get pissed by watchbands? Dave Hurban, a Dynasty Tattoo artist from Newfield, N.J. did, so instead of putting up with them for the rest of his life he decided to surgically place magnets into his wrist. #ThatsAwkward. Is there a warranty on the surgical implants? Not sure if this will be something you will be able to get done at your local tattoo parlor anytime soon, but it’s definitely possible. Now Dave can wear his iPod Nano with no wristband worries! So many worse case scenarios are running through my head right now…Let’s hear yours. [Yahoo! News]

CBGB may not be the center of punk it was in the 1970s, but punk is far from dead. If you enjoy the likes of Patti Smith and Television, then you should give Arctic Monkeys a listen. They kinda sound like The Sex Pistols, but without the crazy harsh vocals of Johnny Rotten. They even hail from Merry Ole England!  And who doesn’t love four dudes rockin’ out with English accents?

The group comprises of Alex Turner on vocals and guitar, Jamie Cook also on guitar, Nick O’Malley slappin da bass, and Matt Helders on drums. Their music is punk, but in the true spirit of original punk, they do not stick to just one sound. Songs like “Brainstorm” and “R U Mine?” have a much heavier rock beat, complete with killer drums and some seriously dark guitar. But then you get songs like “Baby I’m Yours” (which sounds a bit like 50s Do-Wop) and “Suck it and See,” which is pretty mellow despite its snarky and sassy lyrics. Whatever your musical poison, Arctic Monkeys provides. Wrapped in an English accent. Can’t forget the English accent. So even if punk doesn’t tickle your fancy, chances are there is at least one song you can enjoy—these guys are just eclectic like that.