Lifestyle
Autographed Yvonne Strahovski SoBe Lifewater Skinsuit Poster Giveaway
As I’m sure you’ve heard, the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition is available on newsstands everywhere. Just look for the insanely hot cover with Kate Upton smiling back at you, and take a look inside. You’ll find page after page of super fine models wearing barely a damn thing while posing in the most exotic locations in the world. You’ll also find Yvonne Strahovski’s steamy body paint photo shoot for SoBe Lifewater.
Yvonne is the third model to appear in a SoBe Lifewater Skinsuit, and she chatted with us about the experience a few weeks ago. We posted a couple of photos from the shoot, but photos on a blog a really don’t do the shoot justice. To fully appreciate the SoBe skinsuit, you need a big poster autographed by Yvonne herself. Something like this:
How do you score the poster? Easy! Just follow us on Twitter @MANjrcom and send us an email below. We’ll pick a winner at random next Tuesday.
Good luck!
Feb 21st
SnöBar Ice Cream Review
I like to drink and I like to eat ice cream. So naturally, when I heard about SnöBar alcohol infused ice cream and ice pops, I was a bit intrigued. Can two tastes that taste so great apart really taste that great together? I needed to investigate.
SnöBar basically takes premium alcohol and introduces a full cocktail in every ice cream and ice pop serving. Apparently this isn’t easy. There are all kinds of chemistry issues and complicated scientific know-how that goes into the ice cream/alcohol combo process. The main thing is getting the two things to coexist without separating during the freezing process. My understanding is that this has been tried before, just not that successfully.
At the moment, SnöBar ice cream and ice pops are only available in Arizona, but they’ll be showing up in Las Vegas very soon. These treats are ideal for pool parties, BBQs, sporting events, summer snacks, late night sweet-tooth nightcaps, you get the idea.
I got to sample a whole bunch of SnöBar goodies a couple weeks back. I came away impressed. Here are the current flavors of ice cream that are available:
- Grasshopper – Brandy with crème de menthe, crème de cacao and cream
- Pink Squirrel – Brandy, almond liqueur and crème de cocoa with cream
- Brandy Alexander – Brandy and crème de cocoa with cream
- Brandy Alexander with Chocolate Chips – Brandy, crème de cocoa with cream and chocolate chips
And here are the two ice pop flavors:
- Margarita ice-pop – premium tequila, lime and triple sec
- Cosmopolitan ice-pop – premium vodka, triple sec and cranberry.
I sampled a Cosmo ice pop and it was super tasty. Not too sweet, not too stiff of an alcohol taste – just the right combo of flavor, refreshment and slight head-change. For the ice cream flavors, the Brandy Alexander with Chocolate Chips was my favorite. It was a rich, homogenous blend of choco flavor with a bit of a kick. The Grasshopper has a more distinctive minty taste, with the alcohol being more of a subtle play.
The amount of alcohol included in each flavor varies a bit, from 3.59 to 6.41 percent (8.22 to 14.67 alc/vol). No one’s going to ask you for your keys after you enjoy some frozen SnöBar treats, but the alcohol content adds more than just flavor. You definitely get the satisfaction of a full cocktail with the added desert benefit of frozen refreshment.
SnöBar products can be found at Total Wine stores, but the company has plans for a more expansive nationwide rollout in 2012. Keep your eyes peeled for the displays and try one out if you have the chance. It’s a good idea that’s well executed and a delight to share with friends.
Jan 30th
The Feynman Series
I came across these vids yesterday and they’re fantastic. Created by @ReidGower, The Feynman Series is a companion project of The Sagan Series. Check out The Sagan Series Facebook page to learn more. Enjoy!
Jan 25th
AXE Hair Sundance Survival Packs Giveaway
The 2012 Sundance Festival kicks off in Park City, Utah today and we’re teaming up with AXE Hair to give away two AXE Hair Sundance Survival Packs. What does AXE Hair have to do with film festivals you ask? Well AXE Hair is sponsoring the AXE Hair Media Lounge & Groom Room at Sundance, a place where celebs can stop by and get some hair styling love before doing press interviews. Each celebrity will receive AXE Hair Sundance Survival Packs that include the following:
- “Touchscreen” Gloves (gloves that allow you to use your touchscreen phone while wearing them)
- Hand warmers
- Full set of AXE Hair styling products
- AXE Hair Branded Lip Balm
- AXE Hair Branded Mints
But you don’t have to star in a film that’s screening at Sundance to get your hands on an AXE Hair Sundance Survival Pack. We’re giving away two packs to two lucky readers. To enter, just follow us on Twitter and send us an email below. We’ll select two winners at random next Thursday. Good luck!
Jan 19th
Belkin Wireless Dual-Band Travel Router Review
It blows my mind that Wi-Fi isn’t available everywhere. When I traveled to Australia a few weeks back, I stayed at places that offered free Wi-Fi, places that charged you an arm and a leg for Wi-Fi, and places that didn’t even offer Wi-Fi, just hardwire Ethernet web access. And don’t get me started on multiple devices. There’s nothing worse than paying for Internet while you’re traveling, only to find that the iPhone connection that you paid $50 for doesn’t cover an additional connections for your laptop or iPad. It’s the 21st Century, man. People don’t leave the house without packing multiple, web ready devices. If you have to pay per connection to get online with all your different gadgets, your Internet access bill will get to be unreasonable real quick.
The Belkin Wireless Dual-Band Travel Router can help. It’s a small, easy to carry device that uses a Ethernet cable to create a wireless network in spots like airports and hotels. Because it’s dual-band, you basically get to beef up your connectivity and enhance your ability to stream music, videos or just power-surf the web.
The best thing about the Belkin Travel Router is that it’ll save you tons of money on multiple device web access charges. If you pay for an Ethernet connection at hotel, all you need to do is hook up a cable to this little box and then browse on as many devices as you want. So if you want to look up a restaurant option on your phone, while streaming Netflix on your iPad as you answer emails on your laptop, that’s not a problem at all.
The Belkin Wireless Dual-Band Travel Router is priced at $79.99. It comes with a carrying case and everything you need to hookup to an available Ethernet port. It’s a tiny case that’s easy to throw into any carryon bag. If you travel frequently, hate paying web access fees for multiple devices and want the power and convenience of a dual band wireless router on the go, this thing is worth the investment.
Jan 17th
Get Some iTunes Love for Shaving with Schick
No one likes shaving. It’s a tedious chore that has to get done and often gets postponed. If you’re a baby-faced cherub like myself, then shaving is a once a week task that isn’t too taxing. But most American men don’t have that luxury. Most dudes need to shave at least two to three times a week.
If you’re going to shave anyway, might as well get some kind of bonus for it right? Well Schick is currently running a promo where you can score some iTunes cash just for doing something that’s part of your normal routine. If you purchased any two specially-marked Schick iTunes Xtreme3 razor packs, (for him or her), you can redeem the included iTunes codes at schicktunes.com and claim a $10 iTunes download card.
That’s right, two razors gets you $10 to spend on some cheap apps for your iPad, a bunch of songs that you’ve got stuck in your head or whatever else you pay for when you log in to your iTunes account.
Here are few of the Schick products that you can pick up to redeem your iTunes credit:
- Xtreme3 Refresh
- Xtreme3 Hawaiian Tropic
- Hydro Blast
Once you have your iTunes card download card ready to go, you can also download Schick’s Ultimate Morning Playlist, which will be featured on SPIN Magazine. If you prefer choosing your own tunes, then create your own wake-up mix to enjoy during your morning cleanup routine.
You buy razors anyway, right? Might as well get something back for your troubles. The promo runs until the end of February, so get on it!
Jan 17th
Velodyne vPulse In-Ear Headphones Review
Earphone manufacturers tend to make big claims when they market their products, but it’s rare to find an actual set of earphones that lives up to the hype.
I own way too many headphone sets. I got cheap ones, pricey ones, too many Apple earphones to count, those fitness-y wraparound headphones, tiny in-ear buds, foldable DJ headsets, big ole Vietnam helicopter pilot head coconuts, useless two-prong airplane earphones, you name it. I got too many to count, but I’m always down to try a new pair.
So when the opportunity came up to review the new Velodyne vPulse in-ear headphones, I jumped at the chance. And trust me when I tell you, these things are sick.
I mean these earphones look like they’re from the future. As soon as you open up the protective, crush-proof carrying case, you know you’re dealing with a different level of earphone beast. The cord looks like some slim, lightweight blue CAT 5 cable. It doesn’t tangle, even when you wrap it up and stuff it back in the case. It’s cord memory-free. The flat cord structure feels sturdy but not too heavy. You don’t have to worry about the cord tearing, but it’s not like these things weigh you down either. The cable also features quick, intuitive controls for playback, volume and phone functionality.
The actual earbuds are just fantastic. They have a built-in elbow-type construction, so when you toss these thing in your ears, they fit super snug inside your ear canal, with the outside portion of the bud resting comfortable on the lowest ledge of your ear (the antitragus I think). The result is a give-free fit that keeps the buds stable and enhances noise cancellation. When you put these in, they function like earplugs. Even without playing any sound, the only thing you’ll hear when you put on a pair of vPulse earphones is the sound of your own heavy breathing. The unit comes with multiple earbud tips, so you can maximize that form-fitting comfort no matter what.
So the Velodyne vPulse in-ear headphones are built well, they fit well and they provide quality noise reduction without any of the crappy feedback/static sound you get from other headsets. But these things also produce fantastic sound, straight to your external auditory canal. The frequency response is 20Hz -20kHz. The highs are crisp without crackling and the lows are smooth and hit you to the core. It also seems like you can pump the volume up on these headphones way past 11, which is just awesome.
So yea, these in-ear headpones aren’t exactly cheap (they sell for $89), but if you’re tired of noise cancellation headphones that don’t cancel any noise, or if you want snug, comfy in-ear headphones that produce clear sound even at extremely high volumes, you need to check these out.
Jan 11th
Newcastle Cooler Bag Giveaway
We’re teaming up with Newcastle again for another great giveaway! Loyal readers know that we’ve partnered up with Newcastle plenty of times in the past. We interviewed Charles van Es, the Brand Director for Newcastle Brown Ale, when we did our Geordie Schooner Giveaway. We gave away a bunch of cool Newkie stuff for a week straight in September leading up to the first ever Walk the Dog Day event that was held at Finn McCool’s in Santa Monica. Now we’re at it again.
Every time I post about Newcastle I like to mention that it’s my favorite beer. That’s been true long before MANjr starting hooking people up with free Newcastle items. There’s just something extra-super-enjoyable about a frosty pint of Newcastle Brown Ale. It’s really not hard for us to speak favorably about a beer we enjoy at least once or twice a week. It’s just too damn good.
So what’s up with the latest giveaway? It’s a Newcastle Cooler Bag that’s sexier than any Igloo you’ll see at your average tailgate party. This thing’s got rollers and an adjustable handle, man. It’s like a piece of functional luggage that keeps your beer cold and can still fit in an overhead compartment.
To win this posh beer transporter, just Like us on Facebook and send us an email below telling was why you enjoy Newcastle. We’ll pick a winne at random next Friday, January 6.
Also, if you like Pale Ales, don’t forget to try Newcastle’s Winter IPA. It’s available until the end of the month so try it out before it’s gone!
Jan 6th
Jim Beam Bold Choice Recap
Jim Beam recently gave us the opportunity to make a Bold Choice, and with your help, we selected a mission to dive the Great Barrier Reef. It was an amazing, fantastic, extra-superlative experience that’s hard to put into words. Here’s my attempt to some up this once-in-a-lifetime slice of awesomeness.
When Captain Cook first smashed his ship on the Great Barrier Reef in the 1700s, he probably didn’t realize that he was hitting an underwater structure the size of California. I mean this is the largest thing ever created by living beings on this planet. It’s over 130,000 sq. miles of non-stop life blooming in every direction.
The whole thing is just one big submarine playground of fractal aliveness. Soft coral, hard coral, schools of neon fish, stingers, sea turtles, giant clams, sea snakes, sharks… the Great Barrier Reef is like the largest, most elaborate/expensive fish tank you’ve ever seen. And you can see the thing from outer space, man.
During my SCUBA and snorkel dives, it’s like everywhere you turn there’s some sort of otherworldly creature occupying the same space as you. You’ll see fish that resemble small dogs. There are spectacular tree branches of purple coral and underwater formations that look like tiny human brains. You’ll see jumbo versions of cellular structures like mitochondria the size of your kitchen table, ribosomes bigger than a Smart Car or a person-sized Golgi Apparatus just chillin’ out. It’s really a trip.
So reefs have been around for 100s of millions of years, but the Great Barrier Reef is only about 500,000 years old. The dive guides claimed that the Great Barrier Reef is responsible for producing 25 percent of the world’s oxygen. I’m not sure where that figure comes from, but when you see the saturation of life that exists just a few feet below the surface, you’ll believe just about any stat they throw at you. I mean, just look at this stuff:
The Great Barrier Reef is a system of about 3,000 distinct reefs that hugs the northeast coast of Australia. We used Port Douglas, which is about an hour north of Cairns, as our base of operations for the dive trips. We took a trip on the Calypso tour which was not-overbooked and included three great dive spots full of colorful coral. We also took a trip on Aristocat, which was borderline-overbooked, but still amazing. I saw more sea life at the Agincourt reef spots we visited with Aristocrat, but the coral visibility was better with Calypso.
This spot is truly one of the great wonders of the world. If you have the opportunity to visit the Great Barrier Reef in person, I highly recommend it. I chatted up a sea captain who had last visited the Great Barrier Reef in 1986, and he said that the reef you see today is nothing compared to the scenes you could witness back in the day. I tend to believe him. I’m not sure what’s going to happen once the source of 25 percent of the world’s oxygen population becomes endangered, but either way, go visit the Great Barrier Reef while you still can. If you take a long time to schedule your trip out here, it might not look the same when you arrive.
Anyone who I’ve talked to who’s been to Australia has sold me hard on the idea that it’s an amazing place. I was able to visit Melbourne, Sydney and Queensland in the north during my trip, and I was impressed with everything. The cities are fun, the women are gorgeous, the beer is tasty and everything just appears brighter, bigger and more vibrant.
When I was first approached about the Bold Choice opportunity, I was definitely excited, but I didn’t know what to expect. After experiencing my Bold Choice, I have to say that I feel more fired up about life and I have an extra layer of happy memories that I’m going to carry with me for awhile. I want to thank Jim Beam for making this great experience possible.
Dec 23rd
