Musiq Brings Us that "Silky Soul"

Musiq Soulchild is an artist I have been fond of for some years now and "Silky Soul" lifted from last years "Silky Soul Music: An All-Star Tribute to Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly" exhibits what makes him a standout in the musical landscape. I love the video treatment and Musiq and his tuxedoed for piece band looks at home in a clip that pays homage to musical greats. If only Musiq could capture this kind of magic on his albums, then surely he could take his place as a true R&B great.

UCLA's Jam Day Was the Ish

Its very rare that I go to a concert and know everyone on the lineup, but UCLA's "Jam" day was truly the shit and custom made for yours truly. I usually visit this outing on their "Reggae" day, but when I saw the show bill, there was no way I could miss the opportunity of seeing these folks live. And what a treat it was. The eventing started out with "Quadron" who I love and from there the show just kept getting better. Georgia Ann Muldrow did her thing with Declaime, The Foreign Exchange (who I was soo glad to finally see live) rocked it out with the lovely Sy Smith in tow, and Bilal was surprisingly blah even though he gave it a good effort. The big joke with him is that I couldn't understand two words that came out of his mouth and the whole thing took on the look and feel of a bad Vegas lounge act. I was surprised to see that Q-tip still has a rather large following as most of the folks seemed clueless to acts other than Bilal and Q-tip. Tip did his thing though and I really appreciated that he took it back to the "Tribe Called Quest" Days....if Phife Dawg and Ali Shaheed Muhammad pop on stage with Q-Tip then I could have died a happy man on Sunday. I love the generally low key-ness about the event and everything was far more organized that i remember making it a great day for sun and live music in LA.

20 Worst Drinks in America Part 1

20. Worst Water

Snapple Agave Melon Antioxidant Water (1 bottle, 20 fl oz)

150 calories
0 g fat
33 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 2 Good Humor Chocolate Éclair Bars

While “Worst Water” may sound like an oxymoron, the devious minds in the bottled beverage industry have even found a way to besmirch the sterling reputation of the world’s most essential compound. Sure, you may get a few extra vitamins, but ultimately, you’re paying a premium price for gussied-up sugar water. Next time you buy a bottle of water, check the recipe: You want two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen, and very little else.

Bonus tip:
Get the latest book in the best-selling diet series: Drink This, Not That!

Drink This Instead!

Smartwater

0 calories
0 g sugars

19. Worst Bottled Tea

SoBe Green Tea (1 bottle, 20 fl oz)

240 calories
0 g fat
61 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 4 slices Sara Lee Cherry Pie

Leave it to SoBe to take an otherwise healthy bottle of tea and inject it with enough sugar to turn it into dessert. The Pepsi-owned company’s flagship line, composed of 11 flavors with names like “Nirvana” and “Cranberry Grapefruit Elixir,” is marketed to give consumers the impression that it can cleanse the body, mind, and spirit. Don’t be fooled. Just like this bottle of green tea, all of these beverages are made with two primary ingredients: water and sugar.

Bonus tip:
See our updated list of the 20 Worst Foods in America!

Drink This Instead!

Honest Tea Green Dragon Tea (1 bottle, 16 fl oz)

60 calories
0 g fat
16 g sugars

18. Worst Energy Drink

Rockstar Energy Drink (1 can, 16 fl oz)

280 calories
0 g fat
62 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 6 Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Doughnuts

None of the energy provided by these full-sugar drinks could ever justify the caloric load, but Rockstar’s take is especially frightening. One can provides nearly as much sugar as half a box of Nilla Wafers. In fact, it has 60 more calories than the same amount of Red Bull and 80 more than a can of Monster. If you’re going to guzzle, better choose one of the low-cal options. We like Monster; it offers all the caffeine and B vitamins with just enough sugar to cut through the funky extracts.

Bonus tip:
Another great way to lose weight and look your best: Read the Men's Health 100 Best Fitness Tips!

Drink This Instead!

Monster Lo-Carb (1 can, 16 fl oz)

20 calories
0 g fat
6 g sugars

17. Worst Bottled Coffee

Starbucks Vanilla Frappuccino (1 bottle, 13.7 fl oz)

290 calories
4.5 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
45 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 32 Nilla Wafers

With an unreasonable number of calorie landmines peppered across Starbucks’ in-store menu, you’d think the company would want to use its grocery line to restore faith in its ability to provide caffeine without testing the limits of your belt buckle. Guess not. This drink has been on our radar for years, and we still haven’t managed to find a bottled coffee with more sugar. Consider this—along with Starbucks’ miniature Espresso and Cream Doubleshot—your worst option for a morning pickup.

Bonus tip:
Coffee is supposed to be good for you, right? See what other "healthy" foods and drinks turned out to be bad news--read about the 30 "Health" Foods That Aren't

Drink This Instead!

Illy Issimo Caffè (1 can, 6.8 fl oz)

50 calories
0 g fat
11 g sugars

16. Worst Soda

Sunkist (1 bottle, 20 fl oz)

320 calories
0 g fat
84 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 6 Breyers Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches

Wait . . . but aren’t all sodas equally terrible? It’s true they all earn 100 percent of their calories from sugar, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still varying levels of atrocity. Despite the perception of healthfulness, fruity sodas tend to carry more sugar than their cola counterparts, and none make that more apparent than the tooth-achingly sweet Sunkist. But what seals the orange soda’s fate on our list of worsts is its reliance on the artificial colors yellow 6 and red 40—two chemicals that may be linked to behavioral and concentration problems in children.

Bonus tip:
Just because this soda's orange doesn't make it as healthy as orange juice. And just because these dishes have chicken in them don't make them worthy of the lean poultry's reputation: Stear clear of these 30 Terrible Chicken Dishes.

Drink This Instead!

Izze Sparkling Clementine (1 bottle, 12 fl oz)

120 calories
0 g fat
27 g sugars

15. Worst Beer

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot (1 bottle, 12 fl oz)

330 calories
0 g fat
32.1 g carbohydrates
9.6% alcohol

Carbohydrate Equivalent: 12-pack of Michelob Ultra

Most beers carry fewer than 175 calories, but even your average extra-heady brew rarely eclipses 250. That makes Sierra’s Bigfoot the undisputed beast of the beer jungle. Granted, the alcohol itself provides most of the calories, but it’s the extra heft of carbohydrates that helps stuff nearly 2,000 calories into each six-pack. For comparison, Budweiser has 10.6 grams of carbs, Blue Moon has 13, and Guinness Draught has 10. Let’s hope the appearance of this gut-inducing guzzler in your fridge is as rare as encounters with the fabled beast himself.

Bonus tip:
Want to lose weight when you eat out? Try these 10 NEW Top Swaps for Weight Loss!

Drink This Instead!

Leinenkugel’s Fireside Nut Brown Ale (1 bottle, 12 fl oz)

155 calories
13.4 g carbohydrates
4.9% alcohol

Sales for the iMaxi are Booming

Chuck Pretto couldn't figure out how to carry around his new iPad. So he decided to wear it.

From the iMaxi to a C3P0 backpack, accessories for your iPad are a hot commodity, and more businesses are stepping up to meet demand. WSJ talks to online store Etsy.com about the phenomenon and takes a look at some of the more interesting products on the market.

After ordering Apple Inc.'s new multimedia tablet last month, the 52-year-old property manager realized it might weigh down his briefcase. He didn't have another bag or carrier to cradle the 9.7-inch, 1.5-pound device. For a time, Mr. Pretto considered getting a "man purse" for it. Then he learned about iPad-compatible vests on a blog and immediately bought one.

"People can't believe this darn thing will fit inside my pocket," says Mr. Pretto, who now wears the $100 vest every day. The San Diego resident has since bought other iPad-friendly apparel, including a second vest and a windbreaker from travel-clothing maker Scottevest Inc.

Mr. Pretto's carrying conundrum isn't unique. After Apple started selling its tablet in April, early adapters were stumped on how to easily hold and transport the glass-screen gadget.

See some of the cases designed to hold, use and transport the iPad.

Scottevest's vest fits the 1.5-pound device in an inner pocket.

IPad's unusual size—far bigger than a 3.5-inch iPhone but much smaller than most laptops—has ramped up opportunities for enterprising individuals and companies.

In Fairbanks, Alaska, stay-at-home mom Kate Clark created a white, feminine-hygiene-product-shaped iPad case called iMaxi as a play on the jokes that were made about the iPad name when it was first revealed in January. Orders flew in. Other companies are marketing backpacks shaped like Star Wars robot C-3PO as iPad bags, while still others are developing industrial-strength iron-on pockets to hold the gadget.

Ms. Clark, 33, the creator of the iMaxi, fashioned the $30 quilted cotton case with wings for a laugh and put it up on Etsy Inc.'s online handicraft marketplace in February. Then she started getting thousands of hits from curious buyers. The attention, she says, caused her "major anxiety" because she hadn't kept track of how she made the first one and couldn't duplicate it. She eventually figured it out.

Now "we're super crazy busy just by sewing," says Ms. Clark, who has sold more than 100 of the bags and is now looking for a production firm to help her keep up with orders. "We're trying to stay ahead of the wave."

This iPad-sized pocket, the iBap, was produced as a spoof.

One iMaxi customer is Matthew Crowley, a 25-year-old aspiring writer. The Dedham, Mass., resident bought the iMaxi in March because he says he was impressed by the care and attention that was put into making the bag—and he actually uses it. While his father is a fan of the bag, his fiancée isn't. Does he worry about gawkers? "I'm quite immune in fact."

Although Apple has largely ceded the market for accessories for its laptops and phones, the company does sell a $39 black iPad case that can be used to protect the device on the go and prop up it up on a tabletop. Still, the company says it is thrilled to see the bag industry that has popped up around the gadget. The marketplace for iPod and iPhone cases "has been a great opportunity for developers, and we're excited to see the same enthusiasm for the iPad," says an Apple spokeswoman.

In some instances, entrepreneurs are rebranding existing products to suit the iPad. In January, Scottevest, the travel-clothing maker, began touting some of its existing multi-pocketed travel vests that can hold magazines, water bottles and a myriad of gadgets as iPad compatible.

The Sun Valley, Idaho, company—which counts Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak as a member of its advisory board—markets iPad wear starting from $75, and has since hired additional employees and more than doubled production.

Scott Jordan, Scottevest's chief executive, says the company is now working on an iPad-compatible trench coat that can be wrapped into itself to become an overnight bag.

Luxury luggage brands are keen to land iPad's more stylish fans. Tumi Luggage Inc. and Liz Claiborne Inc.'s Jack Spade and Kate Spade accessory lines have iPad bags in the works. Gucci NV says it is also considering iPad-specific cases.

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA jumped on the concept early. "Louis Vuitton is all about nomadism—chic nomadism, explains Yves Carcelle, chief executive of the company's namesake brand. "As soon as we read about it [the iPad], we contacted Apple—to get the dimensions, not the functionalities."

It began selling two iPad-specific cases earlier this month, both with the iconic LV logo, for $320. "In a few weeks we'll have a crocodile version," says Mr. Carcelle. "I remember the surprise Steve [Jobs] had when he found out the crocodile case cost more than the iPad." The price to be stylishly exotic: $1,850.

MZ Services Inc. of Auburndale, Mass. developed a waterproof cover with a transparent surface that lets users operate the touchscreen so they could take their iPads to pools, beaches and even the bathroom. It comes with an adjustable strap so they can hang the iPad from their neck or shoulder. The company says its $26.99 cover, which it sells under the brand name TrendyDigital, is so popular that it has sold out on Amazon.com Inc.'s online store.

The interest in iPad-related carrying accessories is so high that even spoofs are taken seriously. Jordan Owen, member of a Chicago design collective, created a digital prototype of a pair of jeans with an iPad-sized pocket called iBap (iGotaBigAssPocket). Mr. Owen says he received as many as 50 emails from people wanting to buy a pair. Still, he doesn't intend to produce any.

"Splice of Life" The Indie Graduate that Could

I have to admit, I liked the idea of "Splice" much better when it seemed relegated to arthouse showings. Normally, I am not opposed to indie movies that get the star treatment, but with this type of nuanced movie, it seems to do little justice to the art of it all to position it as high consumption. Vincenzo Natali is not a director who would register on anyone's map, but if you are familiar with the "Cube" series, then you know his work is brilliant in that he is able to take very simple elements and make a very complex story out of it. "Splice" promises to maximize on this formula, but their is something about the whole "tentpole" treatment that is rubbing me the wrong way. Warner Brothers, who achieved a studio high and low with the "Matrix" series, hasn't released anything remotely memorable in the last few years and are struggling to make it back on the map in terms of studio superpowers. In a way, Warner Brothers acquiring "Splice" is charming in that they have plucked something that looked like it was doomed for obscurity and given it new life. Whatever the case though, I will be front and center on Friday as "Splice" is the movie I have been waiting to see all year. Full review to appear soon.

College Humor Spoofs Kesha with "Sing Talk"

Ke$ha hasn't been around very long but people are already starting to ask why she's famous. She claims not to use autotune, but her combination of talking and singing in the song "Tik Tok" seem to say otherwise. Well, the jig is up. College Humor is on to her half-singing, half-rapping ways, bringing us this "Tik Tok" parody. "Sing Talk" details her plans to become a singer without any musical talent. Just by speaking whiny pop lyrics into her MacBook Pro, she made it to the top of the charts sounding "like a bitchy, gay robot."

Jack of all Trades: Casino Jack in Reveiw

I know when you mention politics most of the time, people's eyes kinda glaze over, but Casino Jack is less a lesson in government corruption and more of a timely and wondrously educational/entertaining look at how true capitalism works. Meet Jack Abramoff, regarded as one of the top lobbyist in washington and a character too smart for his own good. The movie is less of a portrait about the man and more of a case study on how one man was able to find a niche and create a sort of new market out of it, all while being handsomely compensated. This is the new democracy, where policy is for sale and senators can be bought and sold based on the special interests of Abramoff's client list.

Harrowing and stark, "Casino Jack" comes with us by way of the fine folks who brought us "Enron, The Smartest Guys in the Room" and that too was a documentary of firecracker appeal. "Jack" however, finds us in both, familiar waters and international policy as Abramoff rose to the levels that he did because he was able to acknowledge one simple truth about Washington; the symbiotic relationship between those who desire to stay in office and those who need changes in policy in order to stay in business. Both equate to money matters and this rich doc gives us glimpses into some of Abramoff's craftier schemes and swindles that paint a dense but blurred moral picture, decidedly painted in by greed.

Never fret, the man at the center of this doc, is going to be getting the big screen treatment as Kevin Spacey has been pegged to play Abramoff in an upcoming project. But I would advise you to see this doc first and let the shock of it all wash over you as I did at a late evening screening that had my jaw on the floor. The most shocking part of the doc is that Abramoff only managed to serve 4 years for such heinous crimes.....but do you blame the man or the system put in place that allows for such capitalistic treasures.