Memorial Day, how will you commemorate?

Most of us will be fortunate enough to have an extended weekend, three long sunny days to bask in the warm sunshine and cool breezes. Maybe at the beach, the calm lakeshore or in your own backyard. A nice long weekend to relax, hang with family, friends, have barbeques and pool parties. But why? What or who is it that we are memorializing? As a generalization most of us have an understanding of what Memorial Day is. A day set aside to commemorate US Soldiers who gave their lives in more than a dozen major wars and so many others most of us can't even name. In some parts of the country commemorations continue to take place but the reason for our Monday off goes mostly unquestioned. Even Washington, D.C. took a 60 year break from hosting a Memorial Day Parade. So to remind us what this Monday is about or hopefully even cast a little light on this holiday here's a bit of Memorial Day history.


Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day. Close to the end of the Civil War organized groups of women in the south began decorating the graves of Confederate Soldiers as tribute. Families would also congregate at the burial sites of their recently deceased and have a potluck on the grass. The "First Decoration Day" is said to have been in Charleston, South Carolina on the 1st of May, 1865. On this day almost ten thousand people gathered at the Charleston Race Course to commemorate the more than 250 Union Soldiers who perished on these grounds when they were held as prisoners of war. Most of the attendees were Freedmen, freed slaves, who wanted to commemorate the Union Soldiers who died and were buried in a mass grave on the grounds. Decoration Day was observed nationwide for the first time on May 30, 1868 after a proclamation issued by General John A. Logan, then Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic. The first use of Memorial Day wasn't until 1882 and it didn't gain popularity until after World War II. In 1967 Memorial Day was declared as the official name by Federal law. The day of remembrance became a 3-day weekend on June 28, 1968 when Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which served to move Memorial Day and four other Federal holidays to a specified Monday to create a three-day weekend. Some feel that this is the point in history where the observation of Memorial Day shifted from a national day of remembrance to a marker for the start of summer making it more of a national day of BBQs. Still there are wonderful events that take place each year and serve as a reminder. Since 1951 the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts of St. Louis have been gathering at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery and placing flags on each and every one of the 150,000 graves. For about as long every Thursday before Memorial Day 1,200 soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry place flags at every single one of the 260,000 graves at Arlington National Cemetery and patrol the site the entire weekend to make sure that all the flags remain standing.

Whether you celebrate the holiday hanging poolside, at a family barbeque or at the beach listening to some good tunes, take a moment to remember and honor the men and women that fought for our freedom and in turn our free day.

Today will go down in infamy....nah.

Today is a day that will go down in some niche of history. On this day, the 18th day of May 2012, Facebook went public. This morning's trading was opened when Mark Zuckerberg, outfitted in his finest trademark hoodie, rang the bell. The hype surrounding today had the public seeing visions of chaos and madness with the opening day price booming into the stratosphere. But that is not what happened, not at all. First of all trading began late due to technical difficulties on the NASDAQ's part. Add to that GM pulling $10 million worth of ads from Facebook this Tuesday claiming that it didn't work. This along with an overall wariness for the performance of Social Media stock made Facebook's opening day look more like a couple of kids running around the lawn with sparklers as opposed to the fireworks spectacular most were expecting.

The reason for the anticipated hype was not unwarranted. In 2004, just 8 years ago, Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook out of his Harvard dorm room. What was originally intended to be an exclusive site for Harvard students to meet, communicate and share has now become the world's largest social networking site. What was once exclusive territory of Harvard students is now home to 901 million users worldwide. About 200 million of those users are in the U.S., which translates to approximately 2/3 of the country's population.

Facebook not only made its way into the majority of the population's daily lives, it also changed the way we communicate and interact. Even a simple word like "Friend" has taken on a new meaning. For many, Facebook became a revolutionary means of communicating and sharing with loved ones and friends around the globe. The ability to post and comment along with photo-sharing seemed to make distance non-existent. For some, like the 70 million U.S. users that had left Facebook by 2011, the social networking site seems to work like a false interaction. The immediate and usually edited online communication allows for a lesser need for direct communication therefore increasing antisocial tendencies.

Now with its improved mobile application and its purchase of Instagram users will be spending even more time sharing photos, updating their status, and posting on the go from their smartphones or tablets.

But for those of us who decided not to purchase Facebook stock, at least not yet, here are a couple of items that you could have for $38.00 (or less). All of which can help keep your smartphone going for those emergency posts and status updates.

1- A ReVIVE Series Solar ReStore 15 mAh USB Charging External Battery Pack to charge your phone with free sunlight.

2- A GOgroove SolaceAIR Bluetooth Wireless Headset so you can post and talk at the same time!

You can check out this hilarious list by the clever minds at Gizmodo.com to see more things you could buy instead of FB shares.

Whichever side of the line you fall on the reality is that Facebook shifted the way we interact and words such as like, and friend will never be the same. Oh and even though shares closed at $38.23 Mark Zuckerberg is still a billionaire so I'll take that kind of fizzle anyday.

In the spotlight!

We are so excited about the recent media coverage we just had to share. Two of our most popular items were featured on NBC L.A.'s Today in L.A. by their Emmy Award-winning technology reporter Mekahlo Medina. The two items featured on "The Trend" segment were the GOgroove Mama Panda and the GOgroove Panda Pal. These are two of our most popular speakers not just because of the look and quality but because of the cause that they support. Accessory Power has teamed up with Pandas International, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the Giant Panda, in an effort to raise public awareness of this endangered and captivating creature. To further their efforts during the months of June through October 2012 Accessory Power will be donating 5% of the net profit of sales of the GOgroove Panda Pal to Pandas International.

Pandas International was started in 1999 By Suzanne Braden and Diane Rees after a fortunate trip to the Wolong Panda Center in China. The plight of the endangered Giant Panda made such an impression, that upon their return to the U.S. they co-founded Pandas International. As of 2000 Pandas International is a registered 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. This organization is exclusively devoted to the preservation and propagation of the Giant Panda. Donations to Pandas International, like the one being provided by Accessory Power, are used to provide medical equipment and supplies to Panda Reserves in China as well as funding public awareness and education of these magnificent creatures.

In 2008 a massive 7.9 earthquake devastated the Sichuan Province of China leaving sheer destruction and loss. Among the areas affected was the land that holds the Wolong Giant Panda Reserve Center and the Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center. Pandas International stepped in by providing medicine, food and electrical equipment to the reserves and neighboring communities. They also started the Bamboo Project, an ongoing drive to replant the bamboo and tree cover that was destroyed by the earthquake.

Currently there are about 1,600 Giant Pandas in the wild and about 300 in captivity-- dangerously low numbers, especially for a creature that has been referred to as a living fossil. Let's do our part to ensure that the unmistakably adorable Giant Panda will be around for generations to come. For more information on how you can help ensure the preservation of the Giant Panda please visit www.pandasinternational.org.

A brief history of recorded sound

The earliest known recording of a human voice is a 10 second bit of a French man singing "Au Clair De La Lune" recorded in 1860. The clip was recorded using a then revolutionary recording device called a phonautograph, which was invented by a Parisian printer and inventor named Edouard-Leon Scot de Martinville. This predates Thomas Edison's phonograph recording, once thought to be the oldest, by 28 years. The phonautograph was designed as a mechanical device that would mimic human auditory anatomy. A horn shaped chamber would collect sound which would vibrate within an attached diaphragm. This same vibration would force a bristle to etch the transferred sound as an image on a soot covered sheet that was attached to a hand-cranked cylinder. While this astounding device did in fact record sound it was unable to play any recordings, called phonautograms.

Thomas Edison changed that in 1877 with the invention of the phonograph cylinder, which was a wax cylinder with an audio recording etched on the outside. This cylinder would then be placed on the mandrel of the mechanical phonograph with the audio being amplified through the horn or diaphragm. The phonograph enjoyed a long history taking on different shapes as cylinders turned into discs and phonographs became gramophones. Shortly after World War II vinyl became the recording material of choice--an option still available today. Twenty years later portable record players changed the way people listened to music by allowing them to take their players and records just about anywhere. As practical as these players had become they were far too cumbersome for automobiles, which were soon outfitted with 8-tracks and subsequently cassette tapes.

Speaking of cassettes, remember waiting for your favorite song to play on the radio then hitting the record button on the stereo as soon as you heard the first note? Portable stereos shrank into walkmen which then spun into discmen with CD's. This turned into digital MP3's, which became the intangible notes being played through MP3 players, iPods, and now smartphones. The common threads between all of these incarnations of sound are that you either listened to music out loud or were wired into your device with headphones or earbuds. Remember when it seemed like just about everyone was self-exiled behind those white wired earbuds? Now you don't even need to be connected to your device or alone in a room to enjoy your recordings, or shall I say playlist. Bluetooth connectivity makes it possible to listen to anything on your Bluetooth enabled device wirelessly through Bluetooth capable headphones. Some like the GOgroove SolaceAIR or GOgroove AirBAND allow you to be up to 30ft. from your device so you can take your own private world of sound with you. Music has been a part mankind for thousands of years and we've made leaps and bounds in recordings in just 150 years. Imagine what's next!

Road trips the way they're meant to be

Close your eyes and imagine the open road. Open your eyes. What did you see? A long stretch of landscape as far as the eye can see. Maybe there's a few twists and turns, a drive in the mountains. You might be envisioning a scenic coastal road with the cool ocean breeze rolling in through your window. No traffic, no potholes, no road work shutting down all but the shoulder. The only sounds are the ones provided by your beautiful surroundings and maybe your favorite road trip playlist. Any of the scenarios make for an idyllic road trip. Now close your eyes and remember what your last road trip was really like. Open your eyes. Let me start by saying that I apologize for making you relive it. What did you see? Bumper to bumper traffic? Road crews forcing you to take disorienting detours through unknown places. Were the kids fighting in the back seat over just about anything? Did you give up on your GPS because you kept dropping it or your passenger kept falling asleep rendering them useless as a co-pilot? Just a few universal examples of a long list of what road trips have become. Fortunately for the sake of families, groups of friends or anyone that dreams of that idyllic road trip, we have the solution and it's a simple one. Car mounts.

I don't know how everyone who has a car and relies on some type of smartphone, tablet, GPS, etc. doesn't have one of these. Here's a few that will save your sanity and make your road trip one you will want to remember.

First we have the GOgroove FlexSMART SP advanced car mount. Here's why it's advanced- not only does it hold your smartphone or GPS in place it also works as an FM Transmitter which allows you to play music from your device through your car speakers (your road trip playlist), It also allows you to make and receive hands-free calls through your car's sound system and it includes 2 USB charging ports so you can keep your devices charged and not run out of music. It does all of this while plugged into the DC outlet. You can even rotate it so you can view your screen in either portrait or landscape. Next we have the USA Gear XL Universal AC Vent Mount. This fully adjustable mount locks into the grates of your air vents in seconds! You can use this as a cradle for your smartphone or GPS. I would recommend using it to view directions, get around traffic and roadwork on your GPS while having the FlexSMART SP plugged in for your road trip playlist and hands free calling. We saved the best for last, the USA Gear TabGrab Car Mount. This headrest tablet mount hooks to your cars headrests in seconds and is fully adjustable to securely fit and hold a variety of tablets. Now you can let the kids watch movies, cartoons, sing-alongs, etc. and put an end to the quarreling. Throw in the cute blue Enhance Ybot Dual Headphone Stereo Splitter and you can enjoy the sounds of your idyllic road trip without hearing Dora the Explorer sing for the thousandth time. So take a drive up the coast or even across the country and enjoy the road trip you imagined.

What will you do?

This Sunday April 22nd is Earth Day. A day that will be observed by some 500 million people in 175 countries. For the past 42 years individuals and entire communities have been observing Earth Day as a way to promote individual and social change in environmental policy as well as learning and adopting environmentally friendly habits. Such as taking your own reusable shopping bags to the store, switching to energy efficient appliances, starting a compost bin or changing out old light bulbs for halogen bulbs. All of these are things that you may have already done or are in the process of doing. Maybe you want to get a little more involved, creative or maybe even irrational. In that case you could switch to a lamp that shuts off every time you close your eyes. This of course is accomplished by hooking up electrodes to your face that allow the lamp to read slight muscle movements, which is the irrational part. Maybe you want to go off the grid a little. If so try the bamboo iPod dock which uses a cut length of bamboo as a speaker by using the bamboo's own natural resonance without the use of electricity.

For most of us lending a hand to the environment is easiest done when it's a win-win. For example, energy-efficient appliances equal lower utility bills. So what's an easy, practical and environmentally friendly way we can help? How about using rechargeable batteries? Every year Americans throw out about 2.5 billion batteries which once they start to corrode will make up for more than 80% of the mercury in the waste stream. That's the scary eco-fact. Batteries are also costly. Instead try using rechargeable batteries like any of the TruCELL battery packs which you can recharge in the ReVIVE GoCharge. Another easy switch is solar power. I'm not talking about solar panels for your home or car. I'm talking about the ReVIVE Series Solar ReStore which is a portable extended battery charge pack. This all-in-one charger is capable of powering any device equipped with a micro or mini USB port. The Solar Restore can either be charged via the sun, USB or AC outlet. Once it's charged it will hold the charge for later use to give a power boost to your Smartphone, tablet, laptop, etc. It also includes a built-in, side-loaded, flexible LED light so you can read your Kindle by the campfire while you charge it. These are just a couple of easy, practical things you can do to help your wallet and the environment. But if you prefer the less practical irrational route there's a solar panel bikini available that can power your MP3 player or Smartphone. Happy Earth Day!

#IDestroyedMyEarbudsWhen

It's Friday the 13th, believed by many to be a day of bad omens and catastrophe. To add to that we have had torrential rain, thunder and lightning here in "always" sunny southern California. Normally, this would make for an exceptionally dreary day. Not this time! I took to our Twitter @AccessoryGenie and started a contest. The rules are simple, tweet us with your best #IDestroyedMyEarbudsWhen story include #AudiOHM and get entered into a drawing to win an awesome pair of AudiOHM Earbuds. I have to tell you, this was the best idea I've had all week. The replies have been phenomenal! They've also managed to brighten my otherwise dreary, possibly catastrophic Friday the 13th. Here's a sampling of some of the tweets we've received.


Anissa-"My dog ate them, now she is listening to Sting all the time."

Susan-"My cat is obsessed with my earbuds...he drags them around. The last time he dragged them into the litter box!"

Sarah-"They fell out of my shopping bag right after I bought them & then I backed over them w/ my car."

Mike-"Dancing in the bathroom and they went in the toilet :( how sad is that?"

As you can see so far we've learned to keep our earbuds away from pets and moving cars. As far as those who have dropped them in the toilet, off the side of a cruise ship, or purposely annihilated their earbuds in a moment of rage because they kept falling out I suggest investing in a pair of AudiOHM Earbuds immediately! These are by far the best earbuds I have ever used. The sound coming out of these little guys is amazing. That's because of the AP Noise-Isolation and Sonus Max sound which makes for crystal-clear audio. The Neodymium Magnetic Components along with the resonance chamber makes these little guys boom with bass which in my opinion is what always seems to be missing from other earbuds. Add to that the ergonomic shape and design in which the earpiece is angled 45 degrees into your ear with interchangeable silicon earpieces in 4 sizes to give you a perfectly cushioned fit and you never have to worry about your earbuds falling out again. After all that you probably are thinking they sound amazing, I want a pair right now! Guess what? They're on SALE! That definitely makes this Friday the 13th a lucky one. Unless a black cat crosses your path after you dropped your earbuds and uses them as a chew toy.

That's just a taste of the replies that we've been receiving. If you want to see all of them or better yet add your own story and be entered to win a free pair of AudiOHM Earbuds follow us on Twitter @AccessoryGenie.