Mammoth Blog

FlipATicket.com today announced that it is leading the charge of brokers who have united and said, "Enough is enough!". Over the course of the last several years, brokers have witnessed drastic changes the ticket industry has undergone; so drastic, in fact, that it is difficult to fully grasp.

If you were told five years ago that EI would be purchased by Ticketmaster, or that StubHub would be purchased by eBay, or that TN would morph into a gargantuan network of thousands of brokers, or that Ticket Technology would be bought by StubHub/eBay, or that LiveNation would buy every venue under the sun and ditch Ticketmaster for their own ticketing service, only to merge with Ticketmaster a few months later, would you have believed any of it? Who could have imagined that all of those things would take place in five short years?

Perhaps a better question would be: How have these changes helped your business? Let's see...

* Fewer places to list your tickets.
* Little to no access to other brokers to work trades.
* Fee after fee after fee after fee piled up on top of you.
* Policy changes, sometimes daily.

And what is the result of these changes that we have all witnessed? You, the broker, are left holding the short end of the stick, working harder to earn less. Your choice of places to buy, sell, and trade tickets has been boiled down to making a decision between the lesser of all that is evil. That's how you grow a business, right? No, we didn't think so either.

A number of months back, the folks behind BlueBucs.com sat down and started working on ideas of how to counteract the absurdity that has transpired in our industry, and to help brokers regain control over their business and costs. They poured over so many ideas and options that it is impossible to enumerate, but their brainstorming team always came back to two primary "must do" points:

* Control costs for brokers and consumers.
* Keep it simple and effective, a la Google.

Brokers need to be able to effectively communicate with one another, and consumers need to be able to do a simple search, find the tickets they want, and make a purchase. Neither the broker nor the consumer should be gouged with a litany of fees. Folks are tired of the nickel-and-dime games!

Imagine, if you will..

* No more throwing away thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars in fees each year.
* No more ridiculous "rules" and policy changes each week that are impossible for anyone (including those imposing them) to keep up with.
* No more bowing to your "master", the ticket exchange. They should work for you, not the other way around!

The solution is FlipATicket.com, a brand new, back-to-basics site for brokers to buy and sell tickets, and retail outlet for consumer sales.

Will FlipATicket be the next StubHub, or EI, or TN? Absolutely not. And we don't want to be! Those guys define "ticket exchange", and "ticket exchange" is the problem that FlipATicket is designed to solve! Rather, the goal is to build a platform designed by, run by, and geared for ticket brokers. A platform that offers you an affordable and effective alternative for listing, buying, and selling tickets. A platform with a simple fee structure so that you don't need to hire an IRS agent to help you figure out how much revenue you just lost.

FlipATicket.com will attract customers who are just as tired as you are of dealing with a "ticket exchange". Customers that will appreciate never having to call the horrendous customer service line of a "ticket exchange", because they can now contact you, the seller, directly. The bottom line is, FlipATicket.com will provide you with more opportunities for sales to customers who are *yours*, and both you and your customer will be paying less fees!

We are currently operating in a beta test, which will run until Monday, February 28, 2011. During the beta test period, all ticket brokers will be able to buy, sell, and trade tickets - free of charge, our way of saying "Thank you!" for helping us work out any bugs and for providing feedback on features and future development ideas. As a special added bonus, during the beta test period, registered brokers will have free limited access to our flagship website, BlueBucs.com (the #1 source of presale and onsale information).

On Tuesday, March 1, 2011, all beta test accounts will be disabled, and broker accounts will be available for a nominal fee. A monthly subscription will be available for $39, or you can save 5% by choosing the annual subscription at a rate of just $444. There will be no additional fees to buy, sell, and trade your tickets on FlipATicket.com.

However, we are offering special discount pricing for those who choose to partner with us during the beta launch period. We have allotted a limited number of FlipATicket memberships at deeply discounted prices. As of this posting, only 25 of these spots are available. They are available only while they last, or until the beta test ends, whichever occurs first. Choose from one of the following:

* Founding Member Lifetime Membership - A one-time fee of $999. Never pay another penny to buy, sell, and trade your tickets on FlipATicket.com.
* Charter Membership - Annual subscription rate of just $365. Yes, you read correctly. Just $1 a day to buy, sell, and trade your tickets on FlipATicket.com, with no additional fees.

Again, these are being offered on a first come, first served basis. They are going fast, and will never again be offered.

Can we compete on sheer volume of sales from day one? No, we can't. But by partnering with FlipATicket.com, we can all work together and slowly but surely take back our industry, one-by-one as brokers decide for themselves: "Enough is enough!"

Register today at http://www.flipaticket.com/register

Derek Broes announces OFFICIAL Facebook RAD game launch from Miami on July 22nd.
http://www.saynow.com/playMsg.html?ak=OGlMbm1VRm9wVUcxTFZlMzFjM2NYdz09

Acai berry diets have gained a lot of coverage in the media of late as "super fruit" diet that can do miraculous things to your body. While most of it is true, you need to be aware of all the advantages offered by an acai berry diet before you decide if that is what you need.

Acai berry diet reviews say that the strongest part of the food is that it has strong energy providing capabilities while at the same time inhibits your hunger and your desire to gulp down a ton of food. Hence, you get the benefits of eating on a restricted intake plus you have the energy to work out as well exercise at your will.

There are many more advantages to an acai berry diet as well. It is one of nature's most powerful antioxidants capable of fighting germs and other bacteria that would otherwise cause you to fall ill. It is also known to be a good controller of blood pressure and regulates your cholesterol, if it is in small ranges.

Acai berry diet information also specifies its advantages of being a natural sleep inducer. If you have trouble sleeping at night, then this tiny berry can help you with that as well. If taken in the right amount, you can sleep well in the night in addition to having a lot of energy in the day to work with.

The acai berry diet is not something new but it has only just been discovered in the western world. Brazilian civilizations have consumed it for centuries together and have had no known problems with them. The acai berry diet is also known to be a good source of fiber. Fiber is required in excess for any established diet and hence, acai berry diet satisfies on that realm as well. Fibrous foods are easily digested and don't take a toll on your health.

Middle school students who rely on energy drinks to power them through the day will face prohibition this fall.

The Dudley-Charlton Regional School Committee last night approved a new policy that bans the highly caffeinated beverages, often referred to as energy drinks, from middle school grounds.

"Due to the adverse effects these beverages can have on middle school aged children, beverages such as Red Bull, Monster, Rock Star, Venom and others are not permitted on school grounds, buses or any school sponsored activities," is the statement that will appear in the student handbook this fall.

Saying the drinks contribute to increased heart rate, dehydration, nervousness and irritability, Dudley Middle School Principal Gregg J. Desto said, "You don't have to go very far to learn how bad they are for you."

The new policy applies to the Dudley and Charlton middle school properties.

There was a time when the world was freaking out over Red Bull. It was banned in several countries on suspicions that it contributed to a few dance floor deaths (by heart attack, not just from the annoying techno music).

Today energy drinks have snaked their way so tightly into our culture that people don't give them a second thought. Well, sometimes we do, like this past month when some Red Bull drinks in Hong Kong were found to contain actual cocaine.

Energy drinks have replaced cigarettes as the illicit drug heavily pushed to our youth by the big pharmacies, which could be ironic. And they can be as expensive, depending on your habit.

It's not just dance floor denizens tossing them back, either. I went into the washroom of one of my practitioner's of medicine and there were a dozen empty cans of Red Bull strewn around in there. Does this guy work on his patients when his heart rate is 150? The coolers at the Blue Canoe are so full of energy drinks that I find it hard to find a small bottle of Coke, which is also an energy drink if you are honest with yourself about what energy drinks really are: liquid stimulants. So is coffee, at least the good kind is, the stuff that still has its natural caffeine. They should not be called Energy Drinks. There are no health benefits. They do nothing for you that a caffeine pill or double espresso couldn't handle. They should be called "Sugary Stimulants" or perhaps "Heart Rate Accelerators."

Some of them are offered as sugar free now, which is an improvement from a health standpoint, I guess, unless you believe that sugar substitutes cause epilepsy or strokes.

The first thing the Government should do is ban people from drinking them before playing high heart rate inducing sports. The second is to regulate advertising. How is it that they can say "Red Bull Gives You Wings," a ridiculous and dangerous claim, when a brewery can't even show people sipping beer on TV, or vaguely imply that drinking might make you happier than you otherwise are. Why the hell else would I drink? Oh yeah, the taste.

And that's another thing. I love the taste of a good cup of coffee, and most colas are reasonably tasty. I really enjoy a good dark rum and Coke with a slice of lime, too. It's fun playing off stimulants and depressants, which many Vodka and Red Bull, Jagerbomb, and "Amp and Beer" drinkers do every weekend. I do it sometimes in order to keep writing late, to stay focused for a good live band, or to watch Saturday Night Live.

I'll take a break from wine, beer and spirits to have a double espresso. But I only drink what tastes great. Meanwhile, most energy drinks taste like cough medicine or worse, and Red Bull is one of the worst culprits. I put out a few questions about energy drinks to a local music internet forum that I suspected was visited by users (and boy was I right!) and I learned a few interesting things. One thing is that they actually taste pretty good, and are not just medicinal sugar bombs. Some of the brands reported to taste good are Amp, Sobe Arush, Rockstar Juiced 80%, Monster Khaos, Rockstar Mocha, Full Throttle and NOS.

It is arguably hypocritical for me to claim coffee is fine while energy drinks are the antichrist, akin to The Hills and the popularity of Twilight as indicators of the downfall of civilization (that already happened, people). I'll accept that I'm the pot calling the kettle black, the grey haired guy yelling at kids to get off his lawn, but one has to look at the usage habits of coffee addicts versus energy drinkers. Sure, coffee in excess can cause cardiovascular problems, but we who use coffee regularly are pretty good at self prescribing. When my heart starts fluttering, I've had too much.

Conversely, there are plenty of studies that show concern about energy drinks, maybe because of the extra stimulating effects of taurine and other natural components that are present in addition to caffeine in some of the drinks.

You can link to the abstracts of these studies from the Red Bull section of Wikipedia (which should always be referenced with caution, as there are often falsehoods put in by hackers and jokesters), but you need to pay to see the full articles.

They cite some at Wikipedia. A 2008 study claimed that one can of sugar free Red Bull temporarily raised the cardiovascular risk in the individuals in the study to a level comparable to that of an individual with established coronary artery disease. Red Bull argues that coffee does the same thing. Another study mentions a case of a Red Bull overdose causing postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome in a young athlete. I'm not sure what that is, but it doesn't sound good.

Even locally, my informal survey elicited some scary responses. Evan Phinney of Saint John said: "I don't drink them because I find they make my heart rate too high. I get all flushed and my heart goes fluttery. Oh, and my sister passed out after drinking one and some booze. Not good." Another reported on her bad experience with energy drinks: "First time I tried them they did nothing; last summer I decided to try again when I was working double shifts. I got the bad shakes and had to kneel on the floor with my head against the counter, then blacked out for a second. Only after half the can! But I was also under anxiety and stress at the time, as well as being exhausted."

Coffee can be as bad, according to Montrealer (via Fredericton) Maggie Estey, who also noted from her trip to China that folks there offer Red Bull instead of water when you are thirsty, "Recently I drank two cups of coffee in half an hour and thought the world was going to end. True story."

The key advice I have here, especially in the summer when people tend to party hardy even more, is to be sensible. Stimulating, heart-rate raising drugs, in whatever form, should be used with caution, especially if you are engaging in aerobic activity or drinking alcohol.

In other words, don't drink too much anything.

http://herenb.canadaeast.com/food/article/695748

New Zealand woman has heart attack on Red Bull diet

A woman in New Zealand reportedly suffered a heart attack after drinking too much Red Bull.

Media in the country have reported that Brooke Robertson lost almost 45 kilos by drinking nothing than the Austrian energy drink. Now the woman has serious health problems.

The weight she gained during pregnancy has tempted the 23-year-old to choose this radical diet. Her son Keir is now four years old.

Robertson said: "I just started drinking it. I wasn't sleeping, I wasn't eating - I was exhausted. I just continued to drink it because I think it's an appetite suppressant and I noticed I was losing weight so I stuck to it."

Robertson, from the city of Auckland, saw her weight plunging from a whopping 100 kilos to just 57 kilos. The family mother said she went on a diet of ten to 14 cans of the energy drink a day. Apart from Red Bull, she only consumed a handful of dry cereal now and then, local media have claimed.

Before being struck down by a heart attack, the woman was confronted with severe pain and cramps in her stomach and bowel as well as anxiety attacks.

Robertson managed to keep her new nutrition habit a secret from friends and family for eight months - until she was hospitalised with a heart attack.

Robertson managed to get herself off the drink during her two-week clinic stay. She said: "I had severe withdrawals: sweating, nausea, shaking. It was an addiction. The doctors stated that."

Doctors have told the young mother to avoid Red Bull and other caffeinated drinks, but she admits drinking it occasionally. She said: "I can have one and my heart starts and I get the shakes, so I try not to. It's the same with coffee."

Following her stay in hospital, Robertson now stays slim and fit through a combination of exercise and a Weight Watchers diet. But she claims she still suffers the physical effects of her extreme diet.

In 2008, researchers from the Royal Hospital of the Australian city of Adelaide found that just one can of Red Bull could increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.

A spokesman for the Red Bull in New Zealand denied the drink is addictive and said there was "scientific evidence that caffeine is not addictive."

He said it was available in 148 countries "because health authorities across the world have concluded that Red Bull is safe to consume."

Red Bull hit the headlines recently as health authorities in five German provinces banned its "Simply Cola" drink from the shelves after finding traces of cocaine in it. Officials said they are still negotiating whether to keep up the ban.

Meanwhile, sales of Red Bull Cola went significantly up in Austria. Pub owners and nightclub managers said last week sales figures have quadrupled since German authorities announced their decision. Source>>

What are the 59 Health Benefits that Made Acai Berry So Famous?

1. Prolongs Your Life

2. Increases Your Energy

3. Increases Your Overall Strength

4. Helps you Look and Feel Younger

5. Helps You Maintain Healthy Blood Pressure

6. Prevents Cancer

7. Helps You Maintain Healthy Cholesterol Levels

8. Promotes Normal Blood Sugar

9. Enhances Sexual Function

10. Helps You Lose Weight

11. Relieves Headaches and Dizziness

12. Improves Quality of Sleep

13. Improves Your Vision

14. Strengthens Your Heart

15. Inhibits Lipid Peroxidation

16. Improves Disease Resistance

17. Strengthens Your Immune System

18. Helps Your Body Fight Cancer

19. Protects Your Precious DNA

20. Inhibits Tumor Growth

21. Reduces the Toxic Effects of Chemotherapy and Radiation

22. Helps to Build Strong Blood

23. Helps with Chronic Dry Cough

24. Fights Inflammation and Arthritis

25. Improves Lymphocyte Count

26. Improves Menopausal Symptoms

27. Prevents Morning Sickness

28. Improves Fertility

29. Strengthens Your Muscles and Bones

30. Supports Normal Kidney Function

31. Improves Your Memory

32. Supports Healthy Liver Function

33. Alleviates Anxiety and Stress

34. Improves Your Mood

35. Improves Your Digestion

36. Helps You Maintain Healthy Gums

37. Fights Fibromyalgia

38. Prevents Allergies

39. Protects Children's Health

40. Promotes Overall Wellness

41. Increases workout recovery

42. Increases injury recovery

43. Helps to Reduce Physical Injuries

44. Relieves Arthritis Pain

45. Helps to Clear Skin of Warts

46. Reduces the Occurrence of Seizures

47. Helps Improve & Even Cure Leukemia

48. Fights General Depression

49. Supports Weight Loss through Fat Loss

50. Helps Slow Down the Aging Process

51. Provides all Vital Vitamins

52. Contains Several Important Minerals

53. Is an extremely Powerful Free Radical Fighter

54. Acai has very High Levels of Fibers

55. Cleanses and Detoxifies the Body of Infectious Toxins

56. Helps to Prevent Heart Problems

57. Improves Mental Clarity/Focus

58. Improves Circulation

59. Cures Osteoporosis

Join The Club!

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- A Brazilian berry popular in health food contains antioxidants that destroyed cultured human cancer cells in a recent University of Florida study, one of the first to investigate the fruit's purported benefits.

Published n the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the study showed extracts from acai (ah-SAH'-ee) berries triggered a self-destruct response in up to 86 percent of leukemia cells tested, said Stephen Talcott, an assistant professor with UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

"Acai berries are already considered one of the richest fruit sources of antioxidants," Talcott said. "This study was an important step toward learning what people may gain from using beverages, dietary supplements or other products made with the berries."

He cautioned that the study, funded by UF sources, was not intended to show whether compounds found in acai berries could prevent leukemia in people.

"This was only a cell-culture model and we don't want to give anyone false hope," Talcott said. "We are encouraged by the findings, however. Compounds that show good activity against cancer cells in a model system are most likely to have beneficial effects in our bodies."

Other fruits, including grapes, guavas and mangoes, contain antioxidants shown to kill cancer cells in similar studies, he said. Experts are uncertain how much effect antioxidants have on cancer cells in the human body, because factors such as nutrient absorption, metabolism and the influence of other biochemical processes may influence the antioxidants' chemical activity.

Another UF study, slated to conclude in 2006, will investigate the effects of acai's antioxidants on healthy human subjects, Talcott said. The study will determine how well the compounds are absorbed into the blood, and how they may affect blood pressure, cholesterol levels and related health indicators. So far, only fundamental research has been done on acai berries, which contain at least 50 to 75 as-yet unidentified compounds.

"One reason so little is known about acai berries is that they're perishable and are traditionally used immediately after picking," he said. "Products made with processed acai berries have only been available for about five years, so researchers in many parts of the world have had little or no opportunity to study them."

Talcott said UF is one of the first institutions outside Brazil with personnel studying acai berries. Besides Talcott, UF's acai research team includes Susan Percival, a professor with the food science and human nutrition department, David Del Pozo-Insfran, a doctoral student with the department and Susanne Mertens-Talcott, a postdoctoral associate with the pharmaceutics department of UF's College of Pharmacy.

Acai berries are produced by a palm tree known scientifically as Euterpe oleracea, common in floodplain areas of the Amazon River, Talcott said. When ripe, the berries are dark purple and about the size of a blueberry. They contain a thin layer of edible pulp surrounding a large seed.

Historically, Brazilians have used acai berries to treat digestive disorders and skin conditions, he said. Current marketing efforts by retail merchants and Internet businesses suggest acai products can help consumers lose weight, lower cholesterol and gain energy.

"A lot of claims are being made, but most of them haven't been tested scientifically," Talcott said. "We are just beginning to understand the complexity of the acai berry and its health-promoting effects."

In the current UF study, six different chemical extracts were made from acai fruit pulp, and each extract was prepared in seven concentrations.

Four of the extracts were shown to kill significant numbers of leukemia cells when applied for 24 hours. Depending on the extract and concentration, anywhere from about 35 percent to 86 percent of the cells died.

The UF study demonstrates that research on foods not commonly consumed in the United States is important, because it may lead to unexpected discoveries, said Joshua Bomser, an assistant professor of molecular nutrition and functional foods at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

But familiar produce items have plenty of health-giving qualities, he said.

"Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables is associated with decreased risk for many diseases, including heart disease and cancer," said Bomser, who researches the effects of diet on chronic diseases. "Getting at least five servings a day of these items is still a good recommendation for promoting optimal health."