Samsung NB30 Touch NB30 JT01IT review

Posted by admin on 09月 3rd, 2010 | 0 comments

The NB30 Touch features an Atom N450 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB or 250GB hard drive, and Windows 7 Starter Editionhas, a 10.1-inch matte LED touchscreen has a resolution of 1024×600 and is viewable outdoors. The 6-cell 48Wh battery lasted for around 7 hours. A few negatives Herve Leger Deep-V Bandage included the low brightness of the display, poor touchpad buttons, no swivel hinge and a reasonably large price premium to get the touch model over the standard Samsung NB30.

To ensure full mobility, The Samsung NB30 Touch adopts the most advanced communication technologies: Wireless LAN 802.11b/gper superfast Internet access mode, 10/100 Ethernet card, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, integrated webcam, ideal for sharing information and communicating with colleagues via Herve Leger Cap-Sleeve Bandage chat or video conference. There is also Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, a 3-in-2 memory card reader and three USB 2.0 ports.

The hard drive is protected from shocks and vibrations, thanks to the solution Antishock, the fall sensor that protects data stored in an emergency. The chassis is robust and resistant to deflate, thanks to a reinforced structure. The keyboard is liquid-resistant. NB30 Samsung touchscreen NB30 also has the solution Battery Extender Manager to further extend battery life, improving performance and reducing fuel consumption netbook. The anti-glare screen, opaque, not only is fully visible outdoors or in bright environments, but does not retain fingerprints. The Samsung NB30-JT01IT price about 164 more than the NB30?s base price, which reaches the equivalent Article Marketing Discover The True Value Of A Writing A Great Article of 380 in Europe.

Bookmarking for Traffic SEO Search Engine Optimization and Quicker Indexing

Posted by admin on 09月 3rd, 2010 | 0 comments

What is Social Bookmarking? It is a process where internet users share their favorite websites or web resources with others, which results in gained exposure and popularity.

Search engines love social bookmarking sites because the content is always being updated and the links are user created. The people Herve Leger Scoop Neck that are members of the social bookmarking sites are telling other hey look at this page is has some good content. The bots from the search engines take that into consideration when they are ranking your site. The more links you have to your site the more quality content you must have. Even if the link is blank, those search spiders will assume that there is a reason for the link,they believe that your site has credible information. Many search engines also look at the tags for the bookmark and take Herve Leger Sweetheart Bandage that into consideration.

It is best to take some time and focus your title and description. I use the same technique that I use for article marketing. The title should contain keywords that relate to the page you are bookmarking. I am going to keep it short and simple. Write a catchy headline and you’ll be amazed at the readership you will gain.

First, use long-tail keyword phrases because there is less competition. Long-tail keyword phrases or buying keyword phrases are made of three or more words. Include the keyword phrase in the title, description and in the tags.

Second, make sure to put a call to action in the description. This will vary depending on what you are advertising, just don’t make it sound manufactured. Keep it real. The social bookmarking sites are people sharing information with friends. If you make is sound like a personal advertisement it is not as influential. It is very easy for search engines and social media sites to detect what Herve Leger Cap-Sleeve Bandage is real and what is spam.

This brings up a very good point about abuse/spamming. If you read the agreement when signing up for social bookmarking sites it states that you are not allowed to use these sites for you advertising. If it is obvious to the site your postings can be deleted and your account suspended. It some cases they will band your site completely. I mentioned We must stop the abuse and protect the rights of people Why do we allow bad things happen and nobody says nothing earlier the advantages of having links from these loved sites. In this instance it also spreads the bad back to the search engines.

There are many programs available that can automatically create accounts and submit links. If used incorrectly they can do more damage than good. Please check out the original article on my site for free tools to help you speed up your submission. There is a right way and wrong way to advertise on social bookmarking sites. Take some time and plan.

PS You do not have to bookmark only your blog or web pages. Bookmark articles you have written and submitted, bookmark blogs you have posted comments on, you can bookmark you Mixx page on Delicious and Faves.

Samsung NB30 Touch NB30 JT01IT review

Posted by admin on 09月 3rd, 2010 | 0 comments

The NB30 Touch features an Atom N450 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB or 250GB hard drive, and Windows 7 Starter Editionhas, a 10.1-inch matte LED touchscreen has a resolution of 1024×600 and is viewable outdoors. The 6-cell 48Wh battery lasted for around 7 hours. A few negatives included the low brightness of the display, poor Herve Leger Bandage-lacing Sleev touchpad buttons, no swivel hinge and a reasonably large price premium to get the touch model over the standard Samsung NB30.

To ensure full mobility, The Samsung NB30 Touch adopts the most advanced communication technologies: Wireless LAN 802.11b/gper superfast Internet Herve Leger V Neck Bandage access mode, 10/100 Ethernet card, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, integrated webcam, ideal for sharing information and communicating with colleagues via chat or video conference. Herve Leger Sweetheart Bandage There is also Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, a 3-in-2 memory card reader and three USB 2.0 ports.

The hard drive is protected from shocks and vibrations, thanks to the solution Antishock, the fall sensor that protects data stored in an emergency. The chassis is robust and resistant to deflate, thanks to a reinforced structure. The keyboard is liquid-resistant. NB30 Samsung touchscreen NB30 also has the solution Battery Extender Manager to further extend battery life, improving performance and reducing fuel consumption netbook. The anti-glare screen, opaque, not only is fully visible Broadband Connection Details and Equipment outdoors or in bright environments, but does not retain fingerprints. The Samsung NB30-JT01IT price about 164 more than the NB30?s base price, which reaches the equivalent of 380 in Europe.

little party that evening

Posted by admin on 09月 3rd, 2010 | 0 comments

‘Go away, Cordelia. We’ve got no clothes on.’

‘Why? You’re quite decent. I guessed you were here. You didn’t know I was about, did you? I came down with Bridey and stopped to see Francis Xavier.’ (To me) ‘He’s my pig. Then we had lunch with Colonel Fender and then the show. Francis Xavier got a special mention. That beast Randal got first with a mangy animal. Darling Sebastian, I am pleased to see you again. How’s your poor foot?’

‘Say how-d’you-do to Mr Ryder.

‘0h, sorry. How d’you do?’ All the family charm was in her smile. ‘They’re all getting pretty boozy down there, so I came away. I say, who’s been painting the office? I went in to look for a shooting-sick and saw it.’

‘Be careful what you say. It’s Mr Ryder.’

‘But it’s lovely. I say, did you really? You are clever. Why don’t you both dress and come down? There’s no one, about.’

‘Bridey’s sure to bring the judges in.

‘But he won’t. I heard making plans not to. He’s very sour today. He didn’t want me to have dinner with you, but I fixed that. Come on. I’ll be in the nursery when you’re fit to be seen.’

We were a sombre little party that evening. Only Cordelia was perfectly at ease, rejoicing in the food, the lateness of the hour, and her brothers’ company. Brideshead was three years older than Sebastian and I, but he seemed of another generation. He had the physical tricks of his family, and his smile, when it rarely came, was as lovely as theirs; he spoke, in their voice, with a gravity and restraint which in my cousin jasper would have sounded pompous and false, but in him was plainly unassumed and unconscious.

‘I am so sorry to miss so much of your visit,’ he said to me. ‘You are being looked after properly? I hope Sebastian is seeing to the wine. Wilcox is apt to be rather grudging when he is on his own.’

‘He’s treated us very liberally.’

applies to the alumni

Posted by admin on 08月 30th, 2010 | 0 comments

At the State University of New York at Buffalo, our graduate-student apprentice writers were regular English Department Ph.D. candidates who happened to write fiction as well, but were admitted to the graduate program primarily on their academic qualifications. In consequence, the level of critical articulateness in the room was generally higher than the level of raw fictive talent. Most of those students are now professors. A few have published the odd short story; none has yet become an established professional writer.

The same applies to the alumni of that excellent Aesthetics of Literature doctoral program aforementioned, presided over at Johns Hopkins in the 1950s by a poet, a philosopher, and a philologist: Elliott Coleman, George Boas, and Leo Spitzer, respectively. Its intellectual standards were so high, and literary scholarship was made so appealing by those three excellent gentlemen and their colleagues, that with but a few exceptions all the graduates of that program are now scholar-critics whose occasional fiction or verse is a graceful second string to their bow. Those of us who wound up being writers who also teach, more than teachers who also write, were either never admitted to that program or, like myself, dropped out of it because we felt ourselves distinctly in the wrong métier and out of our intellectual depth.

For me it was a familiar feeling, the same I’d experienced years before at Juilliard. As I’d recognized then that my musical ability was real but small, I recognized later (with some disappointment, but not much) that my ability for abstract thinking and rigorous critical analysis was likewise not of pre-professional caliber. I shrugged my shoulders and got on with novelizing, writing the odd essay or lecture in the same spirit as I played jazz, for serious diversion.

The Best Places to Work

Posted by admin on 08月 30th, 2010 | 0 comments

Life can get a bit confusing after high school ends. Suddenly you’re faced with options galore. Will you venture off to college or will you tackle the job market immediately? This is a question and concern that many young people grapple with at some point. Regardless of what you choose, college degrees generally lead most people to more potential jobs. That’s one of the main reason folks acquire a degree. Naturally when college life is over, you’ll be interested in the best places to work. However, how can you possibly know what these companies are? Well, one way to pinpoint the best and most successful places to work is by taking a peek at career statistics.

Beneficial websites such as bestplacestowork.org, money magazine and greatplacestowork.com are all helpful when it comes to finding and choosing the best places to work. You can see what the best rated companies are, how well they treat their employees and how much they generally pay. This information can be quite valuable when searching high and low for the ideal career. Then there’s the overall stability of the company. This is naturally a major aspect of working for anyone in this day and age. If the business is unable to stay afloat and earn significantly, then you may want to think twice about working for them.

On a separate note, some folks may interpret the best places to work in a different way. For example, knowing how to do your job well and excelling in your field is essential. Furthermore, you must enjoy your field of work! Anyone who spends a lifetime working at a job they don’t even enjoy will naturally not enjoy life to the fullest extent either. Keep this tidbit in mind when you’re online seeking out the best places to work and top rated industries known to man. Having a great job or career is not merely about making money and enjoying stability. It’s additionally about doing something you have a passion for and doing it to the best of your abilities. Take a moment right now and see which local and international companies are rated the best.

My life was filled with dead-end relationships

Posted by admin on 08月 25th, 2010 | 0 comments

My life was filled with dead-end relationships. Seemed every guy I dated had problems with drugs or alcohol. A little voice inside me always told me my bulimia was no different and was probably what attracted these addicts to my life, but I never listened. It was easier just to leave the relationship than to leave my bulimic lifestyle of 25 years.

I was 41 when I met my husband, Rielly. He is Native American and alcoholism has done incredible damage to his race. Rielly was no exception. When I met Rielly it was like nothing I had ever experienced before in my life. I was so taken by him. He wasn’t my type, and 15 years younger than me, but I had no control. I was so in love with him. I knew the Lord had put a spell on me.

Yet, the first time I saw Rielly drunk, I was horrified. I knew he had had too much to drink and was going to die. But he just laughed at me. The next day I told him I understood why he drank the way he did, because that’s the way I eat. With bulimia, I starve myself, then eat and eat everything in sight. Rielly just laughed at my reasoning.

We got married, even though my eating habit never changed and neither did Rielly’s drinking. One year later I told him it was his drinking or me. He said, “See ya,” and walked out of the door. I divorced him.

From the day he walked out of to the next time we saw each other was 13 months. Those were the worst 13 months of my life. I was in hell. Inside, I knew this was not about his drinking; it was about my eating. I knew if I could beat my eating disorder, he could beat his drinking. But I couldn’t do it and it was easier just to blame this failed relationship on him than to take responsibility.

I was an Administrative Assistant for an insurance company that went under, leaving me unemployed. While I was searching through the newspaper for work, I came across an ad:“Free help for people with bulimia.” Everything happens for a reason. It was the biggest struggle of my life, but I knew it was my only hope. Bulimia is a vicious cycle of starvation, eating then purging. But I could safely eat fruits and salads without having to throw up and I reluctantly listened to my doctor and hid cheese in my salads to break the starvation.

I did it. I broke the cycle. I would eat and not throw up. I knew my Rielly would come back to me… but he didn’t. It was five months later before, out of nowhere, there he was standing right in front of me. I looked at him and said, “Well, are you ready to get help?” He looked me right in the eyes and said, “Yes, I am.” We made a date to talk later that day and I walked away nonchalantly as if I didn’t care. But the moment I was out of his sight, I broke down and bawled. The weight of the world had just been lifted off my shoulders.

I went through alcoholism treatment with Rielly. That was six years ago. It seems like yesterday, yet at the same time it seems like those days never were. Alcohol and bulimia have no part of our lives today.
We may have saved each other, but as far as I can see, Rielly saved me. I couldn’t have overcome my addiction without him.

vkac Sri Lanka on edge after vote_130

Posted by admin on 03月 11th, 2010 | 0 comments

Election officials said Rajapakse, who is being challenged by his estranged former army chief Sarath Fonseka, had won 60 percent of the vote with about a fifth of the ballots counted.

The campaign’s vitriolic nature, the personal animosity between the two main candidates and tit-for-tat accusations of coup plots had all fuelled concerns that any result would be contested and foment new unrest.

Sri Lanka on edge after vote
AMAL JAYASINGHE January 27, 2010

Incumbent Mahinda Rajapakse took a strong lead in counting Wednesday from Sri Lanka’s bitterly fought presidential election, officials said, as armed troops surrounded the hotel of his main rival.

“We know General Fonseka is inside, but our interest is in the deserters who could be armed,” he said.

Rajapakse as commander-in-chief and Fonseka, his army chief, defeated the Tamil Tigers in May last year, ending a separatist conflict that left 80,000-100,000 dead, according to UN figures.

Partial official results showed Rajapakse with 1.31 million votes against 862,644 for Fonseka. An estimated 9.85 million people voted in all.

“Personally, the outcome is better than what I expected,” Yapa said.

“We have sent a message asking them to surrender,” Nanayakkara said, insisting that Fonseka himself was not the target.

An opposition spokesman complained that the military presence was intended to “intimidate us or arrest our leaders”.

“What the election commissioner has expressed is merely an opinion, but the courts have the ultimate authority to interpret the law,” Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told reporters late Tuesday.

Media Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa said Rajapakse, who like Fonseka is a member of Sri Lanka’s dominant Sinhalese community, was “heading for a historic victory”.

Tuesday’s election was the first since Rajapakse, 64, and Fonseka, 59, engineered the final defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who had been fighting for a Tamil homeland in the island’s northeast since the 1970s.

There were a number of violent incidents during voting, including bomb attacks in the northern Tamil stronghold of Jaffna, which monitors said had deterred some people from voting.

Tensions were acute in the capital Colombo, where up to 80 soldiers with machine guns ringed the de-luxe hotel where Fonseka was staying with several other opposition leaders.

The winner of the island’s first election since last year’s defeat of a three-decade insurgency by ethnic Tamil rebels was set to be announced around midday (0630 GMT).

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said the troops had been deployed following information that army deserters were among some 400 people inside.


Rajapakse has ruled Sri Lanka since 2005. His three brothers and other family members are in key government positions including the ministries of defence and ports.

The military campaign made both men national heroes in the eyes of the Sinhalese-majority electorate but has since been mired in allegations of war crimes. Some 300,000 Tamils were herded into internment camps.

Four people were killed and more than 1,000 election-related incidents were reported to police in the run-up to Tuesday’s contest.

In a further twist, the government said it would challenge the legitimacy of Fonseka’s candidacy in court after it emerged that he was unable to cast a ballot on Tuesday because his name did not figure on the electoral roll.



The government argued that Fonseka was therefore ineligible for the presidency, despite a strong statement to the contrary from the independent election commissioner.

The government had earlier accused Fonseka of employing a private militia consisting of army deserters, a charge denied by the opposition.

Mcpw Spore to hit Nintendo this fall_382

Posted by admin on 03月 11th, 2010 | 2 comments

In Spore Hero, players can transform into heroic alien creatures on a mission to save their home worlds from certain destruction. By battling evil forces, solving puzzles, and collecting clues, heroes evolve over time. And using the Spore Creature Creator, gamers can build their heroes with assorted alien body parts.

The popular Spore game was originally available only on the PC and Mac. Last September, EA unveiled Spore and another variation, Spore Creatures, for the Nintendo DS. In May, EA announced a fall release for the Nintendo versions of Spore Hero and Spore Hero Arena but hadn’t revealed a specific date.

“Players’ heroes take center stage as both games, distinctly tailor-made for its Nintendo platform, infuse creativity, combat and adventure to create a unique gameplay experience on the Wii and Nintendo DS,” said Lucy Bradshaw, vice president of Maxis, a subsidiary of EA

Spore Hero for the Nintendo Wii

Spore to hit Nintendo this fall

Nintendo gamers anxious to grow Spores will find relief in October.

Electronic Arts announced Monday that its Spore Hero for the Wii game console and Spore Hero Arena for the Nintendo DS handheld will reach store shelves in the U.S. on October 6 and international outlets on October 9.

(Credit:Electronic Arts)

(Credit:Electronic Arts)

Lance Whitney wears a few different technology hats–journalist, Web developer, and software trainer. He’s a contributing editor for Microsoft TechNet Magazine and writes for other computer publications and Web sites. You can follow Lance on Twitter at @lancewhit. Lance is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and he is not an employee of CNET.


Spore Hero Arena for the Nintendo DS



In Spore Hero Arena, gamers can trek throughout space in a battle to defend planets from the galactic bad guys. Players can create their own heroes, combat aliens, and unlock special abilities to give themselves a fighting chance to save entire worlds. The game also lets people play with up to three friends in person or over a Wi-Fi network.

6emo SOUND OFF! ROOMS Rocks, RAINBOW is Resplenden

Posted by admin on 03月 11th, 2010 | 1 comment

 


SOUND OFF! ROOMS Rocks, RAINBOW is Resplendent

This week we are taking a listen to the new Off-Broadway rock musical ROOMS: A Rock Romance and the revival cast recording of FINIAN’S RAINBOW. From Scotland to Ireland, and back to Broadway, we, quite joyfully, jaunt…

Sitting In My Room, Nothing Is Missing

SCORE: 8/10

Things Are Great In Glocca Mora

While the Broadway revival of FINIAN’S RAINBOW may not have had the luck of a four-leaf clover, the masterfully produced and performed cast album is the true gold pot at the end of the titular rainbow. Forget Gene Kelly, Petula Clark, or any of their Broadway counterparts – this is the recording of FINIAN’S for the ages. It is rare that a show that produced quite so many standards as this one – I can count four off-hand – and it is to the credit of Burton Lane and E.Y. Harburg that this score shines so brightly more than fifty years following its Broadway premiere. While it may not be the most complex or innovative score of that decade, or even that year, one would be hard pressed to find a more lovely way to spend an hour in Ireland without leaving the comforts of home. Even the album art and production photos, beautifully showcased in the elegant album design, makes my heart flutter a bit. This is classic Broadway at its best.

Paul Scott Goodman, along with bookwriter Miriam Gordon, has created another rock score worthy of respect and reverence with his work for the semi-autobiographical ROOMS: A Rock Romance, this coming more than ten years after his last effort, the arresting and alarmingly inventive BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY which was based on the classic 80s second-person stream-of-conciousness novel by Jay McInerney. While ROOMS lacks the dramatic weight and engaging, esoteric storytelling style of BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY, it makes up for it in the enthusiasm and energy exhibited by the excellent leads, Leslie Kritzer and Doug Kreeger. The Scottish brogue explicitly evocative of the composer/lyricist himself (and his then girlfriend, upon whom the Kritzer role is based) is brought off with adept aplomb by the leads. Kreeger and Kritzer are both positively wonderful. Track-by-track, and hit-by-hit, the score traverses musical styles as varied and various as one would come to expect from Goodman, who always keeps one foot firmly planted in world of rock. Where the other foot may fall is anyone’s guess.

The album begins with two themes that are reprised repeatedly, each time with more layers of lust, love and lyricism, both on the part of the characters and the actual composer himself. “Rooms” and “Steps” are arresting recurring themes that bring to mind the elusive elegance and eeriness of “Coma Baby” from BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY, starting off the memory play in a memorable manner. As the reprises pile on, one is immediately struck by the subtle strength of Goodman in making the seemingly innocuous, such as a simple set of stairs, so interesting and involving. “Bring the Future Faster” rocks hard and Kritzer navigates the high-belting with assuredness and the result is really quite riveting. “Friday Night Dress”, with its Biblical allusions, showcases the strength of the simultaneous storytelling in an entertaining and inventive fashion. By its title alone, “Scottish Jewish Princess” purports to be funnier than it turns out to actually be, but the beginning Bossa Nova beat, which creeps into a few numbers, compounded by the intricate vocal line and patter song sibilance ultimately proves successful. The rhyme of “Uncle Georgy” and “orgy” is certainly an unexpected and funny rhyme and, in the end, the song serves a similar function to “I Hate The French” in BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY. “I Love You For All Time” at first brings to mind Sting & The Police and given the 80s time-setting of the piece, it is totally appropriate to the period. As the song builds, we become increasingly floored by the fierce and furious electricity ignited by Kritzer and Kreeger’s performances. It is at this point that I came to the conclusion that even if the material were weaker, the leads would raise it up a few levels through sheer will. “Let’s Go To London” contains some high-belting on the order of “A New Argentina” from EVITA and Kritzer’s favorable comparisons to Patti LuPone, having played LuPone herself in a tribute show off-Broadway a few seasons ago, are justly justified. “All I Want Is Everything” is Goodman’s expert musical evocation of everything 80s, and it is, in the words of Wayne & Garth from WAYNE’S WORLD, excellent, totally. “Let’s Leave London” left me a little bit cold and, given that it is the turning point of the story, one wishes for a bit more from the lyrics than “two punks in love”, but every song can’t be a knock-out, I suppose. “NYC Forever!” contains the weakest lyrics of all and it is at this point that the ground upon which this score stands starts getting shaky, but it soon gets back on track with the next half of the show. That being said, the theme for “Pour more booze” in “NYC Forever!” hasn’t left my head since I first heard the album, so, if nothing else, this track is catchy, though some re-writes are in definitely in order.

The “Entr’Acte”, much like the “Overture” before it, beginning with that spine-tingling and classic “Old Devil Moon” cue, makes excellent use of the full-bodied orchestra, the mere presence of the thirty plus musicians an anomaly due to the crippling economics on Broadway today which, more often than not, renders the classic scores of yore anemic and antiseptic sounding in the cripplingly reduced orchestrations that plague far too many productions these days. It is rare to hear so much care and attention paid to every single second of a cast recording and the work by Tommy Krasker and company at PS Classics cannot be applauded enough. “When the Idle Poor Become the Idle Rich” starts Act Two off endearingly, and the delicate orchestrations of the dance sections are carried off with utmost care and precision, making it a truly multi-layered and mellifluous moment for both the superb cast and sumptuous orchestra. “Dance of the Golden Crock” is notable if only for the enticing harmonica playing and audible hoofing comically included on the track. On a less comprehensive and considered recording, dance tracks like this would undoubtedly be left by the wayside. “The Begat”, the second act answer to “Necessity”, is a fun, if innocuous, blues number, though the second act does seem to contain a bit of filler – but, in comparison to the irreproachable first act song stack, that was bound to be the case. The reprises of both “Old Devil Moon” and “Look To The Rainbow” are appropriate and accentuated with slight nuances by Jackson and Baldwin not evident in the full versions of the songs that came previously. Again, they are positively perfect in these roles, both separately and together, and more of their performances are always a welcome addition on this recording. “When I’m Not Near the Girl I Love” is the last of the big, famous standards in this score and it is performed well by Broadway regular Christopher Fitzgerald. The “Finale Ultimo” is the perfect ending to a perfect recording of a nearly perfect score, and leaves the listener wanting to go right back to the base of the rainbow and replay the album again and again. The attention to detail – of each shade and hue of every single, solitary color, both dramatic and musical – is what makes this RAINBOW an absolute winner. A true pot o’ gold.

SCORE: 7.5/10



“The Diabolical” represents the point at which the central relationship begins to show signs of dissolution and the depravedness and decadence of the rock stars starts to show its effects on their romance. “Little Bit of Love” is conversational, but pulsating and painfully punishing, and ultimately a pretty perfect performance of a dramatic moment that is, pardon the pun, pregnant with the dramatic and emotional themes that have amassed by this point in the drama. The counterpoint and hushed conversation that the song ends with is ravishing. “Fear of Flying”, which is reminiscent of “Odeon” in BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY, is a propulsive patter song with particularly effective sound effects, though subtlety is certainly nowhere present here, whether in Kreeger‘s performance or the album’s production. Nor should it be. “Happiness” is heartbreaking and brings to mind the material meant for the mother character in BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY, as well as that show’s “Kindness” so memorably recorded by Sherie Rene Scott on the Sh-K-Boom concept album. “When I’m not with him I’m drowning,” perfectly illustrates the female side of this relationship and exhibits Goodman’s deftness with a common phrase meaning so much more in the context of the drama, particularly since the lyrics are so often focused on alcoholism and liquid allusions – and for good reason. “Clean” is my favorite track on the album and the jaunty riff upon which the melody is based is winning – “The rhythm of the alcohol, keeps kickin’,” indeed. Few composers have musicalized the demons of addiction more expertly or evocatively than Goodman both here and in BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY, which is largely concerned with cocaine addiction. The reprises of “Rooms” and “Steps” are very sad and somber, totally appropriate given the subject matter. “My Choice” could have been insufferably maudlin and sentimental, but due both to the performers and the production it is not, and, in the end, actually brings to mind the best of Sondheim in its style and tender yet tenacious turn-of-phrase. “My choice. Done./ We have a son.” is about as simply elegant as you can get in musical theatre. “Each minor chord, a major test” is another excellent lyric in this equally tear-filled and tender, and tough, song. “A New Song For Scotland” is as patriotic as we are led to expect given the title, and given what has just occurred in the drama leading up to it, is a breath of fresh, clean air. And so is this score, evident, of course, in the “Finale” – and everywhere else.

Character accents are one of the most treacherous treks actors must traverse, as previously alluded to above in the discussion of ROOMS, and it is to the credit of the cast of FINIAN’S RAINBOW that they pull off the Irish brogue so well, rarely over-doing it as is so commonplace in community theatre productions of the show. “Introduction To Necessity” is another fine example of the expert mixing and mastering of the choral work on this album, and though there is a slight echo here and elsewhere it seems as if that is entirely intentional and meant to bring to mind the classic Godard Lieberson-produced albums of the Golden Age. “Necessity” seems slightly old-fashioned and quaint when compared to blues songs and scatting in the scores of today, but given the time-frame in which the show was written it shows how boundary-pushing Lane was trying to be with this score. Lane, by way of this wonderful revival cast, ends the act on a rollicking and raucous note with “That Great ‘Come-and-Get-It’ Day”. But these marvelous moments are merely half the hues of this remarkable RAINBOW.

Starting with a sparkling “Overture,” and the hanky-panky of the harmonica beginning the first vocal track, this cast recording does just about everything just right. The syncopation and sibilance of every single syllable surround us as “This Time of the Year” gets going, and it is rare to hear a chorus this well-mixed and marvelous, whether on a cast album or in the theatre itself. Kate Baldwin is an instant-win with her establishing number, one of the most famous and well-worn songs in all of musical theatre, “How Are Things In Glocca Morra?” Following up that gem is the nearly equally famous and well-known “Look To The Rainbow” and the results are winsome and winning. We are treated to a complete recording of the dance break, as well, and the overall comprehensiveness of this recording is one of many myriad reasons why this album is so momentous and instantly memorable. Cheyenne Jackson, currently on NBC’S 30 ROCK but having established himself as one of the foremost male performers of the 21st century musical theatre, is immediately likeable with the most famous song in a score full of fabulous, famous standards, “Old Devil Moon”. The subtle phrasing and slight homage to a 1940s Broadway delivery were certainly not lost on this attentive listener. The chemistry between Jackson and Baldwin is tangible, even on record, and one hopes to see them pair-up again in the near future, hopefully on a duets album like Jackson’s current collaboration with standards master Michael Feinstein, THE POWER OF TWO. “Something Sort of Grandish” is one of the best examples of Harburg’s wicked and wonderful way with words, and the reprise is equally winning and even more riotously hilarious. In “If This Isn’t Love” Jackson pays homage to the vocal inflections of John Raitt and the results are resplendent, with the chorus members providing expert assistance, both comically and vocally. Even the kiss sound effect is perfect.

Time-Life also provide us with a fun, if frivolous, bonus track called “Click”, and it is quite clear why it was cut, but it is, indeed, just a little bit more of a very good thing. The recording is also so successful in large part due to the sterling work done by producer Rob Sher, whose contributions cannot be overestimated. Speaking of good, Goodman had the misfortune of premiering (and, at that point, performing in) BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY around the same time as Jonathan Larson’s RENT and was subsequently overshadowed by that work and its author. Similarly, ROOMS ended up off-Broadway in the same season as NEXT TO NORMAL. With the immeasurable loss of Larson, Goodman proves with BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY and, now, ROOMS, that he is the current master of the rock musical. Then again, I am one of those who feel BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY is just as good as RENT, and now if forced to compare would prefer ROOMS to NEXT TO NORMAL – BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY is certainly more inventive and more innovative in its style, structure and the substance of the characters than RENT, while comparisons between ROOMS and NEXT TO NORMAL are less useful. ROOMS rocks and Goodman is the rock n roll king of musical theatre – on Broadway or off as he proves with this score that certainly had me, to use a discarded phrase from NEXT TO NORMAL, feeling electric.

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