10 Songs That Rocked The Digital Music World

usic is more popular than it’s ever been, but the models for distributing and promoting it have changed radically. Fans are getting huge amounts of music directly from the web (legally and illegally), artists are becoming stars without ever having to deal with the labels, and entirely new platforms, from ringtones to videogames, are helping........

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Were the 1996 NBA Finals Fixed? - A Crazy Carl Conspiracy Theory

This is an actual IM conversation between Crazy Carl and Myself


Crazy Carl: ok. i was driving to philadelphia with my buddy "D" when we told Me: this story.
Crazy Carl: there was this kid i knew through playing hockey, he went to high school with "D" and played for that school.
Crazy Carl: anyways, the kids father's worked for briggs, the security company.
Crazy Carl: so, in , Briggs is hired by the NBA. the kid's father was assigned to a detail that was supposed to keep the Larry O'Brien Trophy (that's the championship trophy. they make a new one every year) secure from when it was finished being made in mid may until the end of the NBA finals. After that it belongs to the team, and its the teams responsibility.
Crazy Carl: you with me so far.
Crazy Carl: sorry, it was , my bad.
Crazy Carl: anyways, the bulls play the sonics in that NBA finals.
Crazy Carl: games 1 and 2 are in chicago, games 3 and 4 and 5 are in seattle, then games 6 and 7 are supposed to be in chicago.
Me: OK
Crazy Carl: the bulls win game 1 and 2 in chicago.
Crazy Carl: then they win game 3 in seattle
Crazy Carl: seattle comes back to win game 4 107-86.
Crazy Carl: then seattle wins game 5 89-78
Crazy Carl: series goes back to chicago for game 6, chicago wins the title on fathers day 87-75 to win the title.
Me: why do i feel like all those details aren't necessary
Crazy Carl: so, chicago has 2 chances to win the title in seattle, but doesn't. they went 72-10 in the regular season.
Me: anyway, go on
Me: is this a gambling thing?
Crazy Carl:  they were 14-1 in the playoff going into game 4 of the finals in seattle.
Crazy Carl: yes.
Me: let me guess...they didn't even BRING the trophy to Seattle cause they KNEW Chicago wasn't going to win there?
Crazy Carl: exactly.
Crazy Carl: the trophy never went to Seattle
Me: do you really TRULY believe this story?
Crazy Carl: theoretically they should've shipped it to Seattle after game 3.
Crazy Carl: yes i do.
Me: get proof
Crazy Carl: this kids father
Crazy Carl: i believe it with all my heart.
Crazy Carl: games 4 and 5 weren't close. they weren't swung by the refs.
Crazy Carl: chicago lost by 21 points and 11 points in the 2 games.
Crazy Carl: chicago was down 53-32 at halftime in game 4.
Me: may i copy and paste this convo onto my blog?
Crazy Carl: go ahead.
Crazy Carl: it is my new favorite conspiracy theory
Crazy Carl:  the bulls lost one game that season by more than 10 points.

Advice for the GOP: Leak a Palin/Hasselback Sex Tape

Glam Rocker Justin Tratner's Advice for the GOP: Leak a Palin/Hasselback Sex Tape

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BurnTees gets a nice mention in Tweetworks TV Episode 20 - Using Tweetworks for Business

Check out our cool mention on Tweekworks.  Tweekworks is a service/site that uses the power of twitter to bring groups of people together who have a similar interest.  From the site:

"Tweetworks is designed to make micro-blogging more useful for people and businesses. Tweetworks is based on the simple premise that people like to talk about stuff with other people. And it is the stuff (ideas, questions, politics, sports, arts and so on) that brings people together and around which they form community."

It was awesome of Tweekworks to mention us in an article and we hope that you'll take a second to add them to your twitter followers (http://twitter.com/Tweetworks), check out the site, and become involved!  

And if you're not already following us, you can find us on twitter at Twitter.com/BurnTees

From the New TMQ article on ESPN.com

Bankers and Wall Street Are Robbing You Blind, Yet Congress Does Nothing: I still can't understand how AIG, beneficiary of $152 billion in federal subsidies and loan guarantees, could get away with giving management $400 million in year-end bonuses for a year in which management did one of the worst jobs in financial history. That money was forcibly removed from your pocket and placed into the pockets of incompetent scoundrels -- yet Congress does nothing! Now it turns out federally subsidized Merrill Lynch, the Bank of America subsidiary given $20 billion of your money two weeks ago, lost $15.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, and yet handed its senior managers $4 billion in bonuses. Four billion, not million, forcibly removed from your pocket -- or borrowed, with the bill handed to your children -- and put into the pockets of scoundrels who did a terrible, horrible, awful job. Merrill Lynch managers must be laughing out loud: They screwed up in a major way, and for screwing up were lavishly rewarded, while blameless federal taxpayers were punished. Why isn't our Democratic-led, supposedly populist Congress incensed about such abuses?

Unfortunately, I do understand -- because Congress is to blame for the abuses. Congress enacted October's $700 billion bailout of banks and Wall Street without including fraud provisions. At the moment of maximum leverage with banks and Wall Street, Congress simply handed over vast sums of your money without getting any accountability concessions in return. If a Pentagon contractor abuses federal money, if the vendor who supplies staplers and paper clips to the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center abuses federal money, federal prosecutors move in, because contracts issued by federal agencies have fraud clauses. The October deal by which Congress handed over hundreds of billions of dollars to banks and Wall Street doesn't contain fraud clauses!

The AIG and Merrill Lynch top dogs may be despicable, but it's legal for them to stuff your money into their pockets as bonuses. As Michael Kinsley once said, "The real scandal is what's legal." That billions of the $700 billion bailout fund are being looted directly in front of our eyes is legal, owing to the carelessness of Congress.

20th Century Fox

Compared to the people running AIG, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, Gordon Gecko was a paragon of fiduciary responsibility.

So why isn't Congress in emergency session to amend the bailout law to allow prosecution for fraud or misappropriation of federal funds? Much of the $700 billion still is being handed out; with every day that passes, more of your money is transferred to Wall Street and banking-industry con artists without necessary legal protections. If bankers and Gordon Gecko knew they could be prosecuted for awarding themselves bonuses taken from public money, this behavior instantly would stop. In October it was a huge blunder for Congress to start handing out hundreds of billions of dollars without accountability clauses, but at least repetition of this blunder can be stopped now -- if Congress would act. That Congress does not act, but continues to give away your money without fraud protection, indicates members of Congress, Republican and Democrat alike, simply do not care how much of your money they waste. Many members of Congress only care about personal power and campaign donations. Giving away your money to people who are already rich helps members of Congress maintain personal power and assure themselves campaign donations. If Barack Obama is to be a successful president, he must realize fast that the Congress is the source of the fiscal "anything goes" problem he had decried.

Supposedly Wall Street and bank bonuses must be paid in order to keep top people from leaving Wall Street and banks. We want the top people to leave! They, after all, are the ones who melted down the financial markets; the avalanche of losses at Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill, Washington Mutual and other institutions was not caused by the Klingons.Here is a fine article by Michael Lewis on how Wall Street insiders couldn't possibly care less how much of their clients' money they lose, so long as they can manipulate the system to get bonuses. Reckless borrowing and too-small cash reserves set up banks and investment banks for a crash, but created short-term numbers that allowed managers to award themselves giant bonus checks. At least the monies invested and lost with Wall Street brokers were monies freely given. Since the bailout began in October, Wall Street managers and bankers have had access to a far larger pool of cash -- the federal Treasury -- to loot. That's exactly what they are doing, and Congress stands by.

Shortly after Barack Obama was sworn in, he complained of "lack of accountability" in federal handouts to banks and Wall Street. You're in charge now, do something about it! The lack of accountability did not pop out of a rift in the space-time continuum -- the problem is the direct result of carelessness by Congress. Fix the problem! Amend the legislation!

New Comment System

I have no idea if this will work or not, but I just went to Disqus and installed their comment system on this blog.  This should be the first post where it shows up so lets check it out and see if it works!

Crazy Carl's Get Rich Quick Idea

This is an ACTUAL conversation that I just had with Crazy Carl:

Crazy Carl: i finally figured out how i'm going to get rich.

Me: ok I'll bite....

Crazy Carl:  i was thinking about this today when i was speeding and passed a speed trap but didn't get pulled over.

it would sort of be like a stink bomb.

it would be a vial that would have liquid in it that would smell exactly like you shit your pants.

would you rather spend $20 on that, or get a $200 ticket, plus have your car insurance go up?

Me:  you. are. an. idiot

Crazy Carl:  no, i am a mad genius.

why do people buy radar detectors?

and my vial of shit your pants would be way cheaper than a radar detector

Born Into Hope - New Kids T Shirt from Lil' Squirt Tees

If your son or daughter is being brought into this world during the Barack Obama era, there's no better way to make a political statement than with this Born Into Hope design with an image of the Barack Obama logo. Perfect for your son or daughter, babies, toddlers and kids of all ages, this My First President design is available on t-shirts, onesies, stickers, magnets, bags and more. Only from Lil' Squirt Tees.

Born Into Hope Infant/Toddler T-Shirt $15.99	Born Into Hope Infant/Toddler T-Shirt $15.99	Born Into Hope Kids Light T-Shirt $21.99	Born Into Hope Infant Bodysuit $15.99
Born Into Hope Infant Bodysuit $15.99	Born Into Hope Bib $13.99	Born Into Hope Kids Hoodie $26.99	Born Into Hope Kids Sweatshirt $22.99
Born Into Hope Kids Baseball Jersey $19.99	Born Into Hope Kids Dark T-Shirt $25.99	Born Into Hope Kids Dark T-Shirt $25.99	Born Into Hope Maternity T-Shirt $31.99

My First President Kid's T-Shirt Design from Lil' Squirt Tees

Just in time for the inaguration, Lil' Squirt Tees presents this wonderful My First President design.  If your son or daughter is being brought into this world during the Barack Obama era, there's no better way to make a political statement than with this My First President design with an image of Barack Obama. Perfect for your son or daughter, babies, toddlers and kids of all ages, this My First President design is available on t-shirts, onesies, stickers, magnets, bags and more. Only from Lil' Squirt Tees.   Click on any of the images to purchase this design.

$1.6 Billion of GRRRR!

I want names. I want addresses. I want restitution!

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TMQ Asks Again -- Why Isn't This Considered Embezzlement?

From this week's TMQ: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/081223#absurd

TMQ Asks Again -- Why Isn't This Considered Embezzlement? Last week, Louise Story of The New York Times reported that Merrill Lynch top executives awarded themselvesbetween $5 billion and $6 billion in bonuses in 2006, based on claims of spectacular gains in mortgage-based securities. This year, it turned out the claims were false: Merrill declared a $19.2 billion loss on mortgage paper, and the 2006 results were "written down" (declared worthless). Merrill was sold at a distress price to Bank of America, and shareholders were clobbered in the transaction. Yet Merrill executives kept the bonuses. As stock prices have tumbled, many financial companies have admitted to cooked books, declared big losses and taken huge write-downs. Charles Prince, who was recently shown the door as CEO of Citigroup, paid himself $110 million in bonuses for five years as CEO, and upon departure, received an exit package worth $68 million which included such absurd perks as a car and driver for life. Owing to bad management moves by Prince, Citigroup's share price fell 60 percent during his tenure, costing stockholders $64 billion in lost value, yet Prince got to keep the bonuses. Angelo Mozilo, the CEO of Countrywide Financial, which melted down as a result of its sale of gimmick loans, paid himself $410 million over the past eight years, plus many perks such as private jet travel for his wife. In the year before Countrywide was also acquired at a distress price by Bank of America, the company's stock plunged almost 85 percent, costing stockholders about $20 billion in lost value -- yet Mozilo got to keep the bonuses.

Very high pay to Wall Street managers is justified on the grounds that they are financial geniuses with astonishing expertise. Instead it turns out many financial industry managers made basic blunder after basic blunder. The 2008 financial markets crash belies the entire premise of Wall Street -- that the people there deserve huge paychecks for incredible skill in finance. Any fool can make money in a rising market by borrowing! But if the rise stops and you're leveraged, you hit the wall. This is the short version of how many Wall Street and hedge fund managers appeared to be "financial geniuses" from 2003 to 2006, then ended up destroying their investors. The financial manager with true expertise knows to avoid bubbles, especially bubbles based on borrowing. Many Wall Street and big-bank managers during the housing bubble were taking wild risks or performing no due diligence -- and when the risks blew up, they got to keep their bonuses while investors and stockholders got hosed. At this point, it's totally obvious the system is rigged -- lie about returns (or take crazy risks), claim a spectacular year, award yourself a vast bonus. When the scandal hits, so what? You keep the bonuses. TMQ's basic question: Why isn't this considered embezzlement, punishable by law? Financial managers have a fiduciary responsibility to act in their investors' interest. When financial managers instead act against their investors' interest in order to line their own pockets, that isn't just cynical -- that sounds like a crime.

[+] Enlarge

AP Photo/Diane Bondareff

"Our senior executives are counting their bonuses and can't see you now. Your money can't see you now, either."

Note 1: In case you're wondering, I hold no grudge against Wall Street since I've had no problems -- years ago I took my own advice and kept my money far away from highly paid financial managers claiming to possess incredible insider expertise. Note 2: Here, Robert Chew describeshow he lost his life savings by entrusting the money to Bernard Madoff. Why did he do it? Chew had some rich relatives who invested with Madoff, and whispered about how Madoff had a super-secret investing formula. Tuesday Morning Quarterback repeats: There are no secret investing formulas! If there were, Goldman Sachs (which still exists) would immediately buy them.

Introducing Lil' Squirt Tees

BurnTees and KADesigns are proud to present... Lil' Squirt Tees! - Funny and Cute Designs Galore for Babies Kids Moms and More!  Just click on any image or link below to see your choice of products for each design!

Welcome to Lil' Squirt Tees where you'll find original and cute t shirts for kids, babies, toddlers, newborns, parents, brothers, sisters, grandmas, grandpas and anyone else who is cute and adorable! Check out our I'm A Boob Man design, our Don't Ask Don't Smell toddler tees, our Tax Write Off children's and maternity shirts and just in time for the holidays our Santa's Little Helper baby shirts. LilSquirtTees.com has Funny & Cute Designs Galore For Babies, Kids, Moms and More!

Future Chef Kids will look adorable in this Future Chef design! Buy one for your little chef!	Future Field Goal Kicker This future field goal kicker will look adorable on any aspiring football player!	I Still Live With My Parents Kids will look adorable and adults will get a good laugh with this I Still Live With my Parents t-shirt design.	I Still Live With My Parents Kids will look adorable and adults will get a good laugh with this I Still Live With my Parents t-shirt design.
Don't Ask Don't Smell - Blue The army rule for kids and babies. The Don't Ask Don't Smell t-shirt.	Don't Ask Don't Smell - Pink The army rule for kids and babies. The Don't Ask Don't Smell t-shirt.	Tax Write Off - Blue & Green What's the best part of having kids? The love? No, they're a Tax Writeoff!	Tax Write Off - Pink & Orange What's the best part of having kids? The love? No, they're a Tax Writeoff!
Santa's Little Helper Your child will look adorable this Christmas in this Santa's Little Helper t-shirt design.	I Was Nice This Year The perfect t-shirt for your little angel. Simple I Was Nice This Year design with a cute halo.	I Was Naughty This Year Your child will look naughty in this I Was Naughty This Year design with naughty devil horns.	I'm Cuter Than Your Kid You know your kid is cuter, so let then know with this I'm Cuter Than Your Kid design.
I'm Cuter Than Your Kid You know your kid is cuter, so let then know with this I'm Cuter Than Your Kid design.	I'm Smarter Than Your Kid! Your kid is cuter, smarter and overall better than everyone! Let the world know!	I'm Smarter Than Your Kid! Your kid is cuter, smarter and overall better than everyone! Let the world know!	Giraffe! Adorable Giraffe illustration that any kid or baby will love!
That's How I Roll Funny and Cute That's How I Roll with carriage t-shirt perfect for your baby or toddler!	I'm A Boob Man Buy this adorable I'm A Boob Man tee-shirt for your baby boob man.	I Plan On Making This Meal Quite Messy This I Plan On Making This Meal Quite Messy t-shirt is perfect for your toddler or baby.	Throw Up Machine Your little kid love to puke? Than this Throw Up Machine tee-shirt is perfect!
Copy / Paste Twins Separate Copy & Paste t-shirts for twin babies, twin toddlers, twin kids and adult twins!	Pink or Blue, Either Will Do, Mommy's Expecting #2 Pink or Blue, Either Will Do, Mommy's Expecting #2.	To Pee Or Not To Pee, That Is The Question To be or not to be? How bout this To Pee or Not To Pee, That Is The Question tee-shirt for your kid?	I'm Not Fat I'm Pregnant Let everyone know you're pregnant with this I'm Not Fat I'm Pregnant t-shirt.
I Like Mommy Better - Pink & Orange This cute I Like Mommy Better t-shirt is perfect for mommy's little boy or girl.	I Like Mommy Better - Orange & Blue This cute I Like Mommy Better t-shirt is perfect for mommy's little boy or girl.	I Like Daddy Better - Pink & Orange This cute I Like Daddy Better t-shirt is perfect for daddy's little boy or girl.	I Like Daddy Better - Orange & Blue This cute I Like Daddy Better t-shirt is perfect for daddy's little boy or girl.
I Like My Other Grandma Better Make Grandma jealous with this cute I Like My Other Grandma better kids t-shirt.	I Like My Other Granpda Better Make Grandpa jealous with this cute I Like My Other Grandpa better kids t-shirt.	Ring Bearer Your ring bearer will look adorable in this Ring Bearer tee-shirt. Great gift for the ring bearer at your wedding!	Flower Girl Your flower girl will look adorable in this Flower Girl tee-shirt.
Argyle This wonderful argyle design will look great in your child's nursery or bedroom. Available in Pink, Blue & Green, and Green & Yellow