THAT CHRISTMAS LIST- Buying an LCD HDTV on a budget

Buying an LCD HDTV on a budget


The digital television transition is right around the corner. So, digital, high-definition televisions will top many gift lists this year. But before you buy, make sure you’re getting the biggest bang for your buck.

This year, HDTV prices will reach unprecedented lows. A 42-inch set will come in well under $1,000. You may even see 32-inchers for less than $400!

You’ll find plasma and DLP sets. But, LCD has become the most popular type of HDTV. Here are some tips for finding the perfect budget LCD HDTV.

Important features

Resolution differentiates HDTV from standard TV. HDTV resolution is 1280x720 (720p) or 1920x1080 (1080i and 1080p). The letter i stands for interlaced; p stands for progressive.
Full high definition is 1080p. But don’t worry too much about resolution. You probably won’t notice a difference, especially on smaller sets.

Pay particular attention to response time. This is the time it takes a pixel to turn on and off. Response time is measured in milliseconds. Aim for 8ms or faster. Otherwise, you may notice smearing in action scenes.

Brightness and contrast ratio are also important. Brightness is measured in candelas per square meter (cd/m2). Higher numbers are better. The picture will look better in bright light.
Contrast ratio is the difference between the whitest white and blackest back. Shadow detail improves as the contrast ratio increases. Don’t accept less than a 1,000:1 contrast ratio.
Make sure the set has connections for your current home theatre components. Buy one with more than one HDMI input, if possible.

What’s in a name?

You’ll see plenty off-brand sets this year. In fact, off-brands will dominate early sales. Don’t let the names deter you.

Budget brands may not be as physically attractive as the big boys. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the quality is any less.

There are very few manufacturers of LCD panels. Off-brands often share the same panel as costlier models. Different manufacturers make the software and other components, though.
Some extras may not be available on budget brands. Don’t expect card readers, swivel bases or ambient lighting. You’ll be fine without these features, though.

If you must have a brand name, wait. Prices on brand-name sets should start falling three weeks before Christmas.

Read online reviews carefully before buying any set.

Watch out for extras
Competition is forcing stores to lower HDTV prices. You can bet they’ll try to make up for it elsewhere. So, watch out for heavy-handed sales tactics
Retailers make a killing on extended warranties. The truth is, you don’t need one.

Manufacturing defects should become apparent within the standard warranty period. Most brands are reliable, according to Consumer Reports. Included in that group are Sanyo, Sony, Sylvania, Panasonic, JVC, Sharp, Toshiba, Visio, Samsung and Philips Magnavox.

Repair costs after the warranty expires will probably be cheaper than an extended warranty. Anecdotally, I have heard little about TV problems.

You should also watch out for cable prices. The salesperson may try to sell you expensive, brand-name cables. These may run hundreds of dollars.
Tests have shown that most premium cables are not worth premium prices. Budget about $20 for component video cables. An HDMI cable should cost less than $40. Shop around. If nothing else, you can get good prices online.

Remember to budget for installation if you want to wall-mount your set. You’ll spend $100 or more for the bracket. Professional installation starts around $100. Again, shop around. Some professional installers are very expensive. A good handyman can do this job.

It matters where you shop

Don’t limit your shopping to electronics stores. You’ll find great HDTV deals at department stores like Sears and Wal-Mart.

And check warehouse stores like Costco and Sam’s Club. They often have lower profit margins than retailers. Retailers’ profit margins are about 25 percent. At warehouse stores, this drops to 10 percent.

Online retailers will also offer bargains on HDTVs. Don’t forget shipping costs, though. And no matter where you purchase, always check return policies.

Time to Overcome Black Homophobia

Whilst marking their ballot boxes in favour of Barack Obama last Tuesday, 70% of African American voters in California -- just one of the states that have passed Proposition 8 -- also marked their ballot boxes against gay marriage.

With African-Americans turning out in record numbers last week to vote for Barack Obama -- California saw an increase of some 500,000 black voters -- many gay rights supporters are now angry at what they see as an apparent hypocrisy amongst African American voters, who they perceive as having used their numbers to help elect America's first black president whilst simultaneously voting to deny freedoms to another minority. (It's interesting to note Barack Obama's position on the matter -- he is against gay marriage, but supports civil unions and doesn't believe there should be a ban on same-sex marriage, a slightly contradictory position.)

Gay rights supporters are surprised that African Americans could have voted against gay marriage believing that they, more than anyone, should understand discrimination having suffered from it for so long. However, not only are African Americans traditionally conservative when it comes to homosexuality -- carrying strong, often negative and deeply religious feelings about the issue -- some are not convinced that that gay rights are, as many activists believe, on a par with the civil rights issues that black people have faced.

Naturally, many African Americans are pretty irritated at the blame that is being heaped at their doorstep. After all, they were not only ones to vote for a ban on gay marriage. As Raymond Leon Roker points out 49% of Asian Americans, 53% of Hispanics and nearly 50% of white voters -- who make up 63% of the voting population in California voted in favour of the proposition. Furthermore, in California, black voters make up a small proportion of the population and therefore could not have statistically have made the major difference.

Regardless of who is to blame, the African-American community (and black communities around the world) does have an issue -- a deep rooted and as yet very much unresolved one - with homosexuality that needs to be addressed.

Discussions about homosexuality within the black community still often revolve around homophobic attitudes, often couched in and absolved by references to religion and the Bible. We often hear, from young and old, about sin and Sodom and Gomorrah in conversations about homosexuality. Using religion is a good way for people uncomfortable with homosexuality to shut down discussion: after all, how do you argue with the Bible? Preaching the Bible is fine, but it does nothing to address the very pressing issues that our black lesbian and gay community members face.

Our issue with homosexuality is also partly about our own struggles and conflicts over black masculinity and femininity. Whilst black people often complain about the images of black men and women that have been forced upon us and perpetuated through the media, we also struggle with our own ideas about what it means to be a black man or woman. Unfortunately, there is little room for homosexuality within any such discussions.

"No homo," a phrase popularized by rappers is one example of the issues surrounding black masculinity. Expressions of emotion or intimacy (particularly between two men), according to the "no homo" rule, is gay and therefore bad and it should be made known that said expression carries no homosexual connotations, hence the use of the phrase "no homo."

When intimacy and expression are equated in black popular culture, with being gay which is openly and unequivocally equated with being bad, what message does that send not only to gay black men and women about how they are viewed but to heterosexual men and women about how they express themselves?

It's also about our unwillingness to adequately address sexual health issues within our community, with diseases like HIV and AIDS still remaining taboo subjects despite the fact that they disproportionately affect us. Recent research from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention shows that "there were more new HIV infections in young black [gay and bisexual] men aged 13-29 than any other age or racial group".

It's also about the role of the black church, its ability to influence and what it does with that influence.The church has historically blazed a positive trail on civil rights issues affecting the black community, yet on homosexuality they remain either silent of vehemently against it.
Similarly, it's about the black community's willingness - at times - to engage in a head-in-the-sand attitude about certain issues that we feel uncomfortable about. There are a multitude of rumours about black actors, musicians and entertainers who are gay, but there are very few -- if any -- openly gay high profile black people. Those people are not out because homosexuality is still not socially acceptable within the black community, but we all know they are there. With homosexuality, as with some other matters, many of us in the black community seem to operate a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

Regardless of whether or not we agree with it -- I personally do not care who people sleep with or who they marry so long as they are consenting adults -- the fact is that we have brothers and sisters who are gay who require support: emotional, mental and sexual. And supporting them, by constructively engaging with and deconstructing our own prejudices and dealing with some of our own internal conflicts about the issues I've raised above helps the entire black community, in a myriad of ways.

It's not all bad though, apparently. A study by Gregory B Lewis of Georgia State University found that "despite their greater disapproval of homosexuality, blacks' opinions on sodomy laws, gay civil liberties, and employment discrimination are quite similar to whites' opinions, and African Americans are more likely to support laws prohibiting antigay discrimination. Once religious and educational differences are controlled, blacks remain more disapproving of homosexuality but are moderately more supportive of gay civil liberties and markedly more opposed to anti-gay employment discrimination than are whites."

That's all good to some extent. However, there's still plenty of work to be done surrounding the attitudes towards homosexuality within the black community.

It's hard enough being black without the added stress and turmoil that I can imagine comes from being gay within the black community. It's time for us to face up to our issues.

written by Lola Adesioye

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lola-adesioye/time-to-overcome-black-ho_b_143626.html

Obama wins election as first African-American President of U.S.

Wednesday, 05 November 2008 13:28

Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States, opening a new chapter in the country's history as the first African-American to hold the world's most important job.

``If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer,'' Obama told more than 100,000 people who gathered for a victory celebration in Chicago's Grant Park.

The Illinois senator capped his 21-month quest with a sweeping electoral victory that also enhanced the Democrats' majority in Congress and marked the end of an era of Republican dominance in Washington.

Obama crossed the requisite threshold of 270 electoral votes to defeat Republican rival John McCain last night when television networks projected him winning the state of California. He had at least 338 electoral votes to McCain's 145, according to the Associated Press and television network projections. Six states remained undecided.

His victory, along with his party's gains in congressional contests, puts Democrats in firm control of the federal government for the first time since the early 1990s. That gives Obama an opportunity to turn his victory into a pivotal moment in the country's political history.

McCain's Concession

McCain, speaking to supporters in Phoenix, conceded the race and said he called his rival ``to congratulate him on being elected the next president.''

``Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and his country,'' McCain said. ``This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African- Americans and the special pride that must be theirs tonight.''

McCain pledged to do ``all in my power'' to assist Obama and urged his backers ``to find ways to come together'' for the good of the country.

During their phone conversation, Obama told McCain that he hoped to work with him in the future, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said. Obama told McCain, ``I need your help, you're a leader on so many important issues,'' Gibbs said.

Obama also received a congratulatory call from President George W. Bush, who promising a ``smooth transition,'' White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

Promising Change

Obama, 47, swept to victory by promising a change in Washington, inspiring millions of new voters and volunteers along the way. He persuaded the electorate that he could best handle the economic crisis facing the country. He raised more money than any presidential candidate in history, overwhelming McCain.

``He wants to be a transforming leader,'' said presidential historian James McGregor Burns in a Bloomberg radio interview. Such a leader, like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, ``knows how to proclaim great goals and summons the people to help him realize those goals,'' said Burns, who has written biographies of Roosevelt and other presidents.

Having based his presidential bid on change and using that theme to create a new electoral coalition, Obama must now follow through or risk alienating those supporters, Burns said.

``He has made that so crucial to his campaign: change, change, change,'' Burns said. ``This man cannot escape now the responsibilities of trying to bring it about.''

No Guarantees

And while Obama will have the opportunity to build on his appeal to young Americans and energize their generation, there is no guarantee of success, said Scott Keeter, director of survey research at the Pew Research Center in Washington.
``The problems that George W. Bush has had, especially in his second term, have really hurt the Republican Party's brand,'' Keeter said. ``There's no reason to think that couldn't happen if Obama has problems as well.''

The racial symbolism of Obama's campaign was never far from the surface. He formally declared his candidacy in February 2007 in Springfield, Illinois, evoking the spirit of Abraham Lincoln and his call for the nation to overcome the divisions of slavery. Obama ended his campaign Monday night with a rally in Manassas, Virginia, the site of two Confederate Civil War victories.

At the same time, Obama generally avoided overt discussions of racial issues. The one exception was in March, when revelations of inflammatory remarks by his longtime pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, led him to deliver a lengthy address on the subject.

Break With Past

Obama's victory represents a break with the razor-thin margins in the last two presidential elections.

In 2004, the election was too close to call until the next morning, when Democrat John Kerry conceded after concluding he couldn't surpass Bush's vote total in the decisive state of Ohio, which Obama won tonight. Four years earlier, Bush's victory over Vice President Al Gore was in doubt for more than five weeks while Florida recounted its ballots. The Supreme Court finally halted the recount in December, and Gore capitulated.

Obama comes to the White House promising to pursue universal health-care coverage, alternative sources of energy and middle-class tax cuts. He faces daunting challenges: the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the lingering threat of international terrorism.

Obama will have a Democratic House and Senate behind him after he takes the oath of office on Jan. 20. While not all of the races have been decided, the president-elect's party has clearly made gains in Congress.

New Obama Ad Attacks McCain's Economic Deficiency, Palin

Barack Obama took a double-shot at John McCain's campaign today.

This commercial, entitled "His Choice," first highlights Republican McCain's repeated admissions that he's not that great with the economy. Those policy decisions, he once said, will be made by his vice-president, which leads to the titular line and a shot of Sarah Palin winking.

Vice-presidential candidates aren't typically attacked in campaign ads, but apparently Obama thinks that Palin, with her scads of bad press, is a ripe target. Fair enough, although we have to admit this advert left a bit of a bad taste in our mouth.

It's not simply the fact that Palin's painted as a bit of a dolt, a sentiment with which we agree, but that she's presented as a dismissive character, not an attitude to take with only the second female running mate in American history. But, what do we know? We're not campaign managers…

NUBIANNEWYORKERS!

YOU ARE NEVER ALONE... GOD IS WATCHING OVER YOU

MYTHS ABOUT "CHOKING THE CHICKEN"

Masturbation is something you do when you're young, but then grow out of.----In fact, masturbation is a life long sexual activity. Surveys regularly show that anywhere from 70 to 95% of adult men and women masturbate. And while this may slow down as we age, many of us continue masturbating into our golden years. One survey of 800 adults over 60 found that that 46% of them masturbated, another found that 20% of seniors masturbated once a week or more. Masturbation isn't just for the young, nor is it an "immature" form of sexual behavior.

Masturbation isn't "real sex"; it's only for people who can't find a partner.--Masturbation is real sex. When you masturbate you can get really aroused, which can result in very real orgasms. In North America, we put values on different sexual behaviors, but this has no basis in science. From a health perspective, masturbation is as "real" a sexual behavior as intercourse, oral sex, or kissing. And research shows that people in relationships masturbate, which contradicts the myth that masturbation is only for loners.

Masturbation is bad for your health.-- This myth originated with an anti-masturbation tract that was written in 1712 as a way to sell a bogus "tonic" that was supposed to stop the disease of "self-pollution". Through the years there have been many colorful attempts to pathologize masturbation. They say it will make you go blind, it will give you acne, and it will grow hair on your palms. All claims that have been refuted by science. Today virtually all physicians and scholars agree that masturbation is harmless.

Masturbation is something men have to do, but women don't "need" to.--While most statistics show that men do masturbate more than women, there is no evidence to suggest this is due to some biological "need" on the part of men to masturbate. What is true is that social attitudes toward female masturbation are much more negative, and this likely impacts both women's early masturbation and their willingness to report masturbating in a survey.

There is no research to suggest that the desire to masturbate is tied to biological sex or even gender

People in relationships don't masturbate.--This common myth often drives people in relationships to masturbate in private hiding it from their partners. Survey research shows that people of all ages masturbate when they are in relationships. Kinsey's survey found that almost 40% of men and 30% of women in relationships masturbated. A study of Playboy readers found that 72% of married men masturbated, and a study of Redbook readers found that 68% of married women masturbated.

Too much masturbation is bad for you.--With very rare exceptions, frequent masturbation is not harmful. If an individual is compulsively masturbating or is unable to engage in any sexual behavior other than masturbation (and would like to), it is possible that there may be reason to consult a mental health professional. But masturbating, whether it is once a month, or three times a day, if it is part of a balanced sexual and social life, poses no specific risks.

Only certain kinds of people masturbate.--Survey research debunks this myth that only certain people masturbate. Whether you are 19 or 99, religious and conservative or secular and liberal, whether you are a parent, grandparent, uncle or aunt, whether you get around on your own two legs or use a wheelchair, scooter, crutches, or roller-skates to get around, almost everyone has masturbated at some point in their lives, and most of us continue to do so.

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N.Y. Will Recognize Gay Marriage

ALBANY — - New York state will recognize gay marriages legally performed in other states and countries, according to a memo from the counsel to Gov. David Paterson, the governor's spokeswoman said Wednesday.

State agencies, including those governing insurance and health care, must immediately recognize same-sex marriages legally performed elsewhere as valid in New York, according to the directive.

Same-sex marriage is not legal in New York, and the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, has said it can only be legalized by the Legislature.

But the memo, based on a Feb. 1 New York Appellate Division court ruling, would recognize the marriages of New Yorkers who are legally wed elsewhere.




The appellate judges determined that there is no legal impediment in New York to the recognition of a same-sex marriage.

The state Legislature "may decide to prohibit the recognition of same-sex marriages solemnized abroad," the ruling said. "Until it does so, however, such marriages are entitled to recognition in New York."

Gay rights advocates have sought recognition for gay marriages so couples could share family health care plans, receive tax breaks by filing jointly, enjoy stronger adoption rights and inherit property. Most of these advocates rejected so-called gay unions, thought to be a compromise, because the unions lacked the legal protections of marriage.

Many or all of these rights would now appear to be available to legally married gay couples, according to the memo.

Agencies have until June 30 to report back to the governor's counsel on how, specifically, the directive will change existing state benefits and services for gay couples.

Massachusetts is currently the only U.S. state that recognizes same-sex marriage, but its residency requirements would bar New Yorkers from marrying there.

New York residents could instead flock to California, where gay couples will be able to wed beginning June 17 — unless that state's Supreme Court decides to stay its own ruling.

Upon their return home, in the eyes of the state, their unions would be no different from those of their heterosexual neighbors.

Gay couples could also travel outside the country to marry in Canada, for example.

The move by Paterson's administration is one of the strongest steps the state can take short of action by the Legislature.

In a video shown at the Empire State Pride Agenda's spring dinner on Saturday, the governor said he directed the measures as "a strong step toward marriage equality right here in our state."