Archive - August, 2005

2005 MTV VMA’s

August 29, 2005 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

Some thoughts.

I actually watched the whole thing. When everything you own is in boxes, and you have no computer or internet, you will sit through 3 hours of VMAs.

  1. Kanye West stole the show again. For the second year in a row, he was the best performer hands down. And for the second year in a row, his performance has been the tipping point that leads to me buying his album (which I just pre-ordered from amazon).

  2. P. Diddy was an ass. I am a P. Diddy fan, but he came across so boring and self absorbed, that it was almost unwatchable. Its like the guy who always talks about what a tiger he is in bed. If you need to talk about how totally awesome your parties are…then they probably aren’t that awesome. Last night was a colossal flop for him.
  3. Speaking of unwatchable. R.Kelly was embarrassing. I literally couldn’t watch. It was horrific. I don’t even know how to accurately say how horrific it was. Does ANYONE take him seriously? What does this guy need to do in order to be written off? HE PISSED ON AN UNDER AGED GIRL ON VIDEO TAPE FOR CHRIST SAKES.
  4. Gwen Stefani looked like she was going to slit Kelly Clarkson’s throat, and it would have been justified. I would imagine (No matter how talented KC is, and she is talented, as much as I wish she wasn’t) that all of the other artists secretly resent that an American Idol winner took home awards over them.
  5. Hillary Duff needs to be studied by NASA or the CDC or something. I don’t know what the problem is, but she needs to be looked at a little more closely.
  6. And speaking of looking a little more closely. The number one jaw dropping moment of the night, was Eva Longoria. My jaw literally dropped when she came out. I always knew she was kinda hot, but KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS, she was a show stopper. Her bottoms were so tight, you could definitely see her ovaries through the fabric.
  7. And lastly, what’s an awards show without a rap feud. The delay was no match for 50 cent and the crew when they launched into a profanity laced tirade aimed at Morbidly Obese Joe. Lot’s of good, solid, “F words” getting right through. Good times.

Howard Stern Podcasts – Part Deux

August 11, 2005 in Miscellaneous with 1 Comment

Listen To Howard Stern Now
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Ok, seriously. I know what I am talking about. First, it was Upcoming.org’s RSS feeds, then it was Apple’s affiliate program (which was later fixed), and now it is Howard Stern Podcasts.

Via FMQB, Via Adrants.

Coming next year, Audible and XM will introduce the first portable, handheld satellite radio devices that are capable of playing both the XM service as well as Audible’s spoken-word content, which can be downloaded from the Web into the devices’ memory. With the launch of these “AudibleReady/XM” devices, XM subscribers will be able to expand their listening experience through purchase of audiobooks and other content from Audible.

In related news, is Sirius Satellite Radio looking to do something similar with Howard Stern once he arrives? Speaking at the Reuters Telecommunications, Cable and Satellite summit in New York City, Sirius President of Entertainment and Sports Scott Greenstein addressed that topic by saying the satcaster “was looking at everything it could possibly do with Stern,” according to a Reuters report.

Now the above snippet does not explicitly say that the shows will be available for download, but it does imply that the idea has at least crossed the minds of the people who make the decisions at Sirius, which is good enough for me.

I am like the Dupont for ideas. I don’t come up with a lot of the ideas you have, I make a lot of the ideas you have better.

I Fought KFC, And KFC Won

August 9, 2005 in Miscellaneous with 2 Comments

KFC Snacker

It was a long and often difficult battle, but on August 8, 2005, I was defeated by the KFC restaurant on Main Street in Waltham, Massachusetts. For eight months, this establishment has taunted me from just outside of my kitchen window. I would come home after a long day of work, starving and tired, only to catch the sweet smell of the Colonel’s original recipe drifting in through my open window. It wasn’t easy, but I resisted. I resisted the temptation of one Colonel Harland Sanders for some two hundred plus days. That is, until this past Monday night.

With $2 in my wallet, a pit in my stomach, and nothing in the fridge, I made the move. I took the 30 step walk into the KFC and emerged with $1.98 worth of battered goodness. The knockout punch came in the form of two KFC Snackers. It was a low moment, but looking back…it was inevitable.

In 21 days, I move out of the shadow of this KFC, to a new apartment in Newtonville…which just happens to also be within walking distance of….yes, of a KFC. For now, it is back on the wagon. One day sober and counting.

Oh Ticketmaster. How You F*ck Me So.

August 9, 2005 in Uncategorized with 1 Comment

Bitching about Ticketmaster is about as interesting and novel as calling G.W. stupid, but I just had to share this one. There are two upcoming shows happening in the Boston area that I intend to check out. One is Athlete at TT’s in Cambridge and the other is The Decemberists at the Avalon in Boston. Together, face value of the tickets, a pair for each show, is $56.50. An average ticket price of $14.12, not bad at all.

Enter Ticketmaster. Thanks to “Convenience Charge(s)” and “Order Processing Charge(s)”, the total jumps to $80.85, a 43% markup on the original price, and brings the average ticket price to over $20. The real kick in the cyber-balls, is the charges on the $10 Athlete tickets. When you are shelling out $275 to see a post-menopausal Madonna lip synch “Like A Virgin” from the 78th row, an extra $8 or so blends right into the bottom line. When I am picking up 2 $10 tickets to see a band in Cambridge, and the extra charges equal the cost of a third ticket, it is a bit maddening.


click for a larger version

As if the above charges weren’t enough, Ticketmaster charges you $2.50 to print the tickets out yourself, while having them mailed to you via the USPS is free. So when I print out these full page, full color tickets, on my own printer, with my own ink, it costs me an extra $2.50? Makes sense. And this of course is Ticketmaster’s “recommended” method of delivery.

With Ticketmaster taking such a healthy margin from anyone foolish enough to buy these tickets online, it makes me wonder what the band(s) see in terms of payment at the end of the night. I am guessing not nearly enough.

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