Winter Park Florida 1st Fashion Week

It gives me great pleasure to be able to talk about something really cool and positive for Winter Park! Fashion Week! One week from today(Oct. 5th), Fashion Week kicks off on Park Ave in downtown Winter Park. Running October 5 thru October 11. The show is presented by the Park Avenue Area Association. Tickets are $25 for admission to all fashion shows. VIP tickets are $100 and include extra goodies. I have been told that the VIP tix are going really fast, soooo, if YOU plan on getting one, don't wait!

You can purchase tickets from the Winter Park Chamber Of Commerce, participating retailers, or, call 407 644-8281 for more info. It's going to be a really great event, don't miss out. Let's make Winter Parks first fashion show a huge success!

I will have more pics on featured retailers and updates thru the week. Thanks to Jean Patteson for her great article in September 20th Sentinel.

Peace & Fashion,

Bobby Sharpe www.myspace.com/akuasharpe

Online Gambling vs The Feds

Online Gambling Law Challenged

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - A gambling industry group argued in federal court Wednesday that a new federal law against transmitting online bets outside the United States violates people's right to gamble in the privacy of their own homes.

The group's lawyers said that, because filtering technology already exists to make sure children and compulsive gamblers cannot access offshore betting sites, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act serves only to stifle gambling companies.

The federal government has not yet applied the law.

The Internet Media Entertainment & Gaming Association, which sued the federal government in U.S. District Court in Trenton this summer, ultimately wants the law declared unconstitutional.

The U.S. Justice Department wants the lawsuit dismissed.

Judge Mary L. Cooper heard arguments in the case Wednesday morning and said she expects to rule within 30 days.

Edward Leyden, president of the industry association, said the law is limiting an industry whose revenues he estimated at $50 billion to $60 billion a year.

"It's a large market now, and it's growing," he said.

But the federal government's stance is clear: online gambling is illegal.

"You can go to Vegas. You can go to Atlantic City. You can go to a racetrack," Leslie Bryant, head of the FBI's Cyber Crime Fraud unit, wrote on the agency's Web Site earlier this year. "You can go to those places and gamble legally. But don't do it online. It's against the law."

Leyden said the online gambling industry wants the government to monitor and even tax it. U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., is sponsoring a bill that would regulate the industry, but not tax it, Frank spokesman Steve Adamske said.

"That's exactly what we want - that kind of protection for our customers, kind of like a Securities and Exchange Commission for online gambling," Leyden said. "Nobody in this industry wants to be tagged with the reputation of not being straight with the players."

The law is also under attack internationally. Several countries are seeking compensation from the U.S. on the basis of a World Trade Organization ruling that American Internet gambling restrictions are illegal.

The Justice Department did not immediately return a call seeking comment Wednesday.

In court papers, it said that the association does not have the legal standing to challenge the law and that there is no constitutional violation.

What can I say, "once again, the good old government has their "we are going to protect you from yourself" nose in stuff they should not even be involved in. Don't they just tick you right off?

"Baby needs new shoes",

Bobby Sharpe Orlando Sentinel - Community Winter Park Blog - www.myspace.com/akuasharpe

PS3 Video Game Reviews Plus "Dragon Wars" Movie

Review: 'Lair' and 'Warhawk' Exclusive
Sep 15, 7:11 AM (ET)By MATT SLAGLE

It's been a long year for PlayStation 3 owners with very little in the way of new, exclusive content. As good as they are, "MotorStorm" and "Resistance: Fall of Man" are wearing thin for me.

Finally, two new PS3 exclusives are available: "Warhawk" and "Lair."

Being an exclusive game doesn't guarantee greatness. Five minutes with "Lair" makes that painfully clear.

"Lair" (Rated T, $59.99) kicks off well enough, with a gorgeous animated sequence involving warriors on fire-breathing dragons.

The aerial spectacle is tremendous, the cinematic effect stirring.

So how can the actual game - a title with battle-tested, fire-breathing dragons, mind you - be so utterly terrible?

It's a classic case of a game that looks phenomenal but plays horribly. The controls quickly kill any sense of fun.

Flying dragons around the war-torn landscape is maddeningly tough in "Lair." Too tough.

That's because you have no choice but to move the controller in the direction you're trying to go. The PS3's controller has always had a motion-sensing capability, but it's very imprecise when you're trying to guide a dragon through a narrow canyon.

To do a quick 180, you can flick the controller up - but, often, my flicks didn't do anything or sent me in the wrong direction.

If only "Lair" would let me use the controller's traditional joysticks and buttons for movement.

"Lair" just isn't worth the effort.

One star out of four.

At least "Warhawk" delivers what it advertises: a quick, responsive multiplayer combat game. Nothing more, nothing less.

The game feels a bit generic compared to more established online shooting franchises like "Unreal Tournament," but there's plenty to like about "Warhawk." Namely, big, sprawling online matches against up to 31 other real players.

There are the usual online modes like Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag, which span a diverse array of maps. There are plenty of weapons like machine guns and grenades, plus you can drive around tanks and jeeps, or control turrets to defend your base.

Some weapons seem overpowered, namely the flame thrower, which can somehow mow down armored tanks with relative ease.

But the game's biggest rush comes from piloting the warhawk fighters. They're able to transform from hovercraft to fighter jets and back again.

They pack an arsenal of weapons that includes missiles and mines. They're extremely maneuverable, too, able to perform all sorts of aerial tricks such as loops and spinning turns.

There are two ways to buy "Warhawk," which is rated T. You can download it directly from Sony and pay $39.99, or buy a boxed copy that includes a wireless headset for $20 more.

That way, you can talk trash right back to the online strangers who will taunt you after they've blasted you from the sky.

"Warhawk" is the sort of game the PS3 desperately needed. It's an approachable title that delivers all the online mayhem you can handle.

Three-and-a-half stars.

If YOU would like some more review on either of these games, go to Lair for PlayStation 3 Review - PlayStation 3 Lair Review Warhawk for PlayStation 3 Review - PlayStation 3 Warhawk Review .

"Dragon Wars" Movie

Just got home from seeing the movie. Not sorry I went to see it. It was pretty decent. A little to much on the goofy side though. I almost felt like I was watching one of those Saturday night "Sci Fi Channel" made for movies.

The special efx were pretty decent. it seemed to me that if the makers of this movie would have taken a little more time and concern, this could have been even a step higher.

As I said though, "it was good entertainment for what it is supposed to be ". I would give it 2 out of 4 stars. The best dragon story ever written is three quarters of the way done. It will be finished by this Halloween! I promise and guarantee that!

Dragons Rule, They did, and they will,

Bobby Sharpewww.myspace.com/akuasharpe Bobby Sharpe's "Indigo Spiritz"

Led Zeppelin- One Concert, One Time, Nov. '07

Led Zeppelin Taking Flight for Rare Show

LONDON (Sept. 12) - Led Zeppelin will perform a one-time comeback concert in memory of Ahmet Ertegun, a co-founder of Atlantic Records.

The band will perform together for the first time in 19 years on Nov. 26, at London's The O2 venue, on the banks of the River Thames.

'Dazed and Confused,' 1969
AOL Music: Watch More Led Zeppelin Videos

Promoters said the concert would pay tribute to Ertegun - the label boss who popularized Ray Charles , Aretha Franklin and Led Zeppelin - who died in December at age 83.

"During the Zeppelin years, Ahmet Ertegun was a major foundation of solidarity and accord," Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant said in a statement. "For us he was Atlantic Records and remained a close friend and conspirator."

Ertegun, who co-founded the Atlantic Records label with Herb Abramson, signed Plant's band in 1968 and later snapped up the Rolling Stones.

Led Zeppelin's remaining original members Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones will headline the concert with late drummer John Bonham's son, Jason, on drums, organizers said Wednesday.

The quartet is expected to perform a full set lasting up to two hours.

Promoter Harvey Goldsmith said Led Zeppelin would play one show only and there was no commitment or discussion of playing beyond that.

The Who 's Pete Townshend , Bill Wyman, Foreigner and young Scottish singer Paolo Nutini - the last British act Ertegun signed - will also play at the tribute concert.

All proceeds will go to the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund to establish music scholarships for students at institutions in Britain, the United States and Turkey, Goldsmith said.

I am really looking forward to this and hope, they do a good job and pull it off. Zeppelin is one of the greatest bands ever. "Whole Lotta Love" and "Stairway To Heaven" are hits for eternity and beyond. Can't wait!

Rock n Roll,

Bobby Sharpe Bobby Sharpe's "Indigo Spiritz" www.myspace.com/akuasharpe

Question That Needs An Answer

Say hello to my furrie friend

Just wanted to start this post Labor Day week off by wishing everyone a great fall season. Hope your summer was inspiring, productive and, fun. Now it is time to get down to reality and move forward.

Question

While sitting at the breakfast table this past Sunday morning with my wife Mary engaging in a little worldly conversation, this question came to mind. "How come our 17 year old son can go to war, and possibly get killed, in Iraq or Afghanistan, but, he can not get a job as a game tester for video war games etc at Electronic Arts video game company"? He has to be 18 to be a game tester, but, can play real life war games with real weapons and consequences at 17! Excuse me, but, "what kind of American, democratic, political, moralistic, ignorant bullsh_t is that"?

I really would like an intelligent answer to this question. YOU can leave a comment or email me at reggae8@aol.com. Now is a good time to use your "OPYN MINDZ".

"The more YOU know, the more YOU grow,

The more YOU grow, the further YOU go"

Bobby SharpeBobby Sharpe's "Indigo Spiritz" www.myspace.com/akuasharpe

"Goat Sucker" Chupacabra, Real Or Not

Chupacabra Head, Nice

Has a Mythical Beast Turned Up in Texas?

CUERO, Texas (Sept. 1) - Phylis Canion lived in Africa for four years. She's been a hunter all her life and has the mounted heads of a zebra and other exotic animals in her house to prove it.

But the roadkill she found last month outside her ranch was a new one even for her, worth putting in a freezer hidden from curious onlookers: Canion believes she may have the head of the mythical, bloodsucking chupacabra.

"It is one ugly creature," Canion said, holding the head of the mammal, which has big ears, large fanged teeth and grayish-blue, mostly hairless skin.

Canion and some of her neighbors discovered the 40-pound bodies of three of the animals over four days in July outside her ranch in Cuero, 80 miles southeast of San Antonio. Canion said she saved the head of the one she found so she can get to get to the bottom of its ancestry through DNA testing and then mount it for posterity.

She suspects, as have many rural denizens over the years, that a chupacabra may have killed as many as 26 of her chickens in the past couple of years.

"I've seen a lot of nasty stuff. I've never seen anything like this," she said.

What tipped Canion to the possibility that this was no ugly coyote, but perhaps the vampire-like beast, is that the chickens weren't eaten or carried off - all the blood was drained from them, she said.

Chupacabra means "goat sucker" in Spanish, and it is said to have originated in Latin America, specifically Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Canion thinks recent heavy rains ran them right out of their dens.

"I think it could have wolf in it," Canion said. "It has to be a cross between two or three different things."

She said the finding has captured the imagination of locals, just like purported sightings of Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster have elsewhere.

But what folks are calling a chupacabra is probably just a strange breed of dog, said veterinarian Travis Schaar of the Main Street Animal Hospital in nearby Victoria.

"I'm not going to tell you that's not a chupacabra. I just think in my opinion a chupacabra is a dog," said Schaar, who has seen Canion's find.

The "chupacabras" could have all been part of a mutated litter of dogs, or they may be a new kind of mutt, he said.

As for the bloodsucking, Schaar said that this particular canine may simply have a preference for blood, letting its prey bleed out and licking it up.

Chupacabra or not, the discovery has spawned a local and international craze. Canion has started selling T-shirts that read: "2007, The Summer of the Chupacabra, Cuero, Texas," accompanied by a caricature of the creature. The $5 shirts have gone all over the world, including Japan, Australia and Brunei. Schaar also said he has one.

Look, after some of the blog post I have put up in the last year or so, I don't doubt anything. There are a lot of strange things being discovered and found on this planet recently. Chupacabra or not, "it's ugly"! You be the judge as to what YOU choose to believe.

Animalz Rule(even ugly ones)

Bobby Sharpe