Snick's Blog

Take TMZ Off The Air

2010-01-04T18:40:00.007-05:00

I turned on TMZ (FOX) this evening to get news about Artie Lange, the troubled comic and Howard Stern Show funnyman. This is not the first time I have seen the program, and every time I turn it on I am offended. Every night someone on the show will say something extremely stupid, like "Tiger Woods used to live in his mother's stomach". Other times, they will use ethnic accents that aren't good impressions by anyone's standards, nor are they appropriate for the content. It would seem their only purpose is to illicit a cheap laugh. (Lol, Indian people).

The first segment tonight was a Tiger Woods segment.
"Is tiger woods in Africa?" :flash photos of 3 nude women in africa:

We've come to expect this racism from FOX News, but now we see it on FOX, the over-the-air FOX?!

In the next segment, a TMZ reporter goes up to Lou Diamond Phillips and says "you were in one of my dad's favorite shows, he loved that show" and Lou goes "oh, good to hear that, sir". The TMZ guy says, "yeah but he died though". Lou gives a look of concern and says, "I'm really sorry to hear that", They flash back to the TMZ studio and everyone laughs at it. "AHAHAHHAHA, LOOK AT HIS FACE, HE FEELS BAD"

Are you kidding me? You're laughing at a guy for taking sympathy with you?!

There were several other segments that included harassment of celebrities followed by shock that the celebrities would be upset that their dinner was ruined, or embarrassing photos of themselves were posted. The TMZ correspondents seemed to be in utter disbelief that someone wouldn't want to be harassed and then lampooned on TMZ.com

Can we stand idly by while FOX transmits racism, stupidity, and misinformation to us and our children? Tell FOX to stop pummeling us with meretricious and self-indulgent programming.

askfox@fox.com

TMZ
P.O. Box 900
Attn: FOX BROADCASTING Publicity Dept.
Beverly Hills, CA 90213-0900

And if you don't want to, or don't have the time to compose a letter yourself, just send them a link to this article.

Together we can end TMZ and bring quality programming back to the dinner hour.

500 Albums To Listen To - Part 1

2009-10-27T20:51:00.012-04:00

Here's part 1 in a 500 part series. These are really 1001 of my favorite albums. I'll examine each and give some detail as to why it's a great album, but this is NOT a download blog. There are plenty of places to find these on the internet, even legally if you'd like.

Paul Kantner and Jefferson Airplane - Blows Against The Empire

The first album by the band under the name Jefferson Starship, Blows Against The Empire is a beautiful piece of American history that is under-appreciated. Musically and ideologically experimentational, Blows Against The Empire is a unique record. Paul Kantner got help from a few music legends on this project.

Personnel

Paul Kantner – vocals, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, banjo, bass machine
Grace Slick – piano, vocals
Jerry Garcia – banjo on "Let's Go Together", pedal steel guitar on "Have You Seen the Stars Tonite", sound effects and vocals on "XM", lead guitar on "Starship"
Bill Kreutzmann – drums on "Let's Go Together"
Mickey Hart – percussion on "Have You Seen the Stars Tonite", sound effects and vocals on "XM"
Joey Covington – drums and vocals on "Mau Mau", congas on "Hijack"
Jack Casady – bass on "A Child Is Coming" and "Sunrise"
David Crosby – vocals and guitar on "A Child Is Coming" and "Have You Seen the Stars Tonite", background vocals on "Starship"
Graham Nash – congas on "Hijack", sound effects on "Home", background vocals on "Starship"
David Freiberg – background vocals on "Starship"
Harvey Brooks – bass on "Starship"
Peter Kaukonen – lead guitar on "Mau Mau"
Phil Sawyer – sound effects on "Home" and "XM"

- Wikipedia's Personnel List for the album

Lyrically, this album is innovative and daring, going beyond protest song composition and examining total rebellion against the America of the Vietnam War era and a new revolution leading to a society of free love, free music, peace, and complete freedom.

"What you gonna do when Uncle Samuel comes around
Askin' for the young one's name
And lookin' for the print of his hand for the files in their numbers game
I don't want his chance for freedom to ever be that slim
Let's not tell 'em about him --"

-"A Child Is Coming", Track 4

"You know - a starship circlin in the sky - it ought to be ready by 1990
They'll be buildin it up in the air even since 1980
People with a clever plan can assume the role of the mighty
and HIJACK THE STARSHIP
Carry 7000 people past the sun
And our babes'll wander naked thru the cities of the universe
Cmon
free minds, free bodies, free dope, free music
the day is on its way the day is ours"

-"Hijack", Track 6

Why you should check it out
You ought to give this record a spin if only because it's like nothing you've ever heard before.

Drunkards

2009-10-22T23:04:00.002-04:00

During the Angels-Yankees game tonight a fan got drunk and jumped into the fountain at Angel Stadium. That was funny to see on TV.

I'm really interested in starting a podcast. If you're interested in co-hosting leave contact info in the comment section. No previous experience needed, just be genuinely interesting or know how to fake it.

Dead Malls

2009-10-11T22:59:00.003-04:00

I've been wanting to do a blog post for a while now. Youtube really is one my favorite 21st century inventions. Tonight I stumbled upon videos about dead malls in the United States. "Dead malls" are mall buildings with high vacancy rates, and on Youtube you can find malls with no stores left, save for one anchor store. In the case of Metcalf South Mall, that store is Sears.

Here's a website with many dead mall photographs

Nickelodeon Studios, the fantasyland of any American child in the late 80's and 90's, was closed a few years ago. One superfan of Nickelodeon took a tour of the empty building and posted the pictures to his website. Even if you have never watched Nickelodeon, those photographs are extremely interesting.

Larry King's Wife Shawn Fights Howard Stern Fans On Twitter

2009-09-14T17:30:00.004-04:00

On her twitter page, Shawn King is fighting off fans of Howard Stern, who are demanding to know why she promised to take a lie detector test on the show but has twice not shown up when she was booked.

From Marksfriggin.com

Howard said they had no word from Shawn King today. He said that they're unable to find her. He said they had the whole thing set up and now she's 30 minutes late. Robin wondered why she would agree to do it and then not show up.

Shawn has been arguing since it was announced this morning on Stern's Sirius-XM show that she was a no-show.

@iwantcandi what did I lie about?about 9 hours ago from TwitterFon in reply to iwantcandi

Who says I'm not gonna take the test? RT @bobby904: @shawnieora why aren't you gonna take the lie detector on Howard Stern Show!about 8 hours ago from TwitterFon

@Mantrabus my schedule has me booked at 5:00 tonight on Howard Stern.about 8 hours ago from TwitterFon in reply to Mantrabus

@Mantrabus My assistant on this trip just opened his schedule and said "I'm sorry. I made a mistake." I'll bring him with me when we're on.about 8 hours ago from TwitterFon in reply to Mantrabus

I thought it sounded a bit odd that we were doing Howard Stern at 5:00 pm. I go where they point me on heavily scheduled trips.about 8 hours ago from TwitterFon

I think u dont know what u r talking about. RT @Doink317 I think Shawn King is hiding something...won't take the lie test on Howard Stern...about 8 hours ago from TwitterFon

Sorry gang. I just talked to Gary in Howard Stern's office and we rescheduled for Wednesday morning.about 8 hours ago from TwitterFon

RT @JaMaalBuster: Sorry everybody its not @shawnieora fault she wasnt on Howard Stern today..she's so busy other people keep her schedule...about 8 hours ago from TwitterFon

I'd like to add one question to the lie detector test. "Did you know about the appearance on Howard Stern this morning?"about 8 hours ago from TwitterFon

Shawn pulling out didn't leave a big void time-wise in today's show. Stern interviewed disgraced Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, actor Dustin Hoffman, actress Marissa Tomei, and pornstar Sunny Lane.

Nicole Atkins

2009-09-14T17:11:00.005-04:00

http://www.nicoleatkinsblog.blogspot.com/
www.myspace.com/nicoleatkins

Nicole Atkins is a singer/songwriter from Neptune, NJ. She's released one full length album and a few EP's so far and she's working on a second LP. I am a huge fan of everything she has written and her covers are outstanding as well. I would classify her work under the same genre as Roy Orbison, Morrissey, Mama Cass, Neil Young, and Love, to name a few. I don't like to devote whole stories to other bloggers, but she is definitely worth checking out.

King Of The Hill Ends Its 13 Year Run

2009-09-13T23:11:00.002-04:00

King of the Hill ended it's 13 year run tonight with 2 episodes. The first was a typical KOTH-style adventure. Bobby finds a new thing, Hank despises new thing, gets in the way, Bobby learns a lesson. The second saw Hank and Bobby finding common ground with steaks and grilling. They finally come to like each other and the neighborhood is at peace. A heartwarming ending indeed, "I tell ya what".

Series creator Mike Judge also has a new movie in theaters called
"Extract" which I hope to see soon. The movie led to a new 3 minute Beavis and Butthead cartoon and much discussion about an upcoming project centered around them.

The Goode Family, another Mike Judge project, ran for one season on ABC this year. On August 8, 2009, Steve McPherson (President of ABC entertainment) announced that the show was officially cancelled. Judge says he would like to continue the show on another network.

I think King Of The Hill ended at just the right time, it fulfilled all expectations and covered all ground. I think people will look back on it as a solid show and one of the best cartoons FOX has ever aired. So long to King Of The Hill. Yep.

Kanye West At The 2009 VMA's

2009-09-13T22:12:00.008-04:00

I can't believe I'm commenting on the VMA's. A friend of mine told me about the very prominent asshole Kanye West's behavior at the VMA's, ripping the microphone from the hand of Taylor Swift, someone whose music I'm not familiar with at all. I was going to post a link to a video, but of course Viacom is rejecting free publicity and having youtube delete all video of the incident. (EDIT:Once this gets old I'll add a video link that looks permanent)

Kanye's reason for interrupting was he felt Beyonce should have won, as she had "one of the best videos of all time!" Kanye finds every opportunity to push himself and his friends onto the main stage. Swift was practically IN TEARS as Kanye ranted about Beyonce.

Kanye West is a popular rapper best known for his loud mouth, arrogance, stupidity, and his lack of ability to laugh at himself. As someone who has listened to rap music for years, I must say his talent is lackluster. His writing is oftentimes cringe-worthy, his flow and rhythm are hardly even entry-level. His production work consists almsot entirely of samples from other songs, very much more so than most other producers. Kanye was probably most recently in the news due to the death of his mother Donda West, due to complications resulting from excessive plastic surgery.

What I'd like to know is, where was security during Kanye's storming of the stage?

EDIT: Later that night Beyonce won an award and brought Swift on stage to give her speech instead. I have removed the part of this about Beyonce's attitude as it was proven wrong.

My Radio Appearances

2009-09-11T23:14:00.008-04:00

Star Trek Exhibit - Franklin Institute

2009-09-10T19:31:00.006-04:00

Layouts

2009-09-03T19:05:00.000-04:00

I'm playing with the layouts and testing stuff here so the blog might not look great over the next few days. I've got major changes in store. A lot more content coming along with regular series and features. I hope you'll enjoy. I'll keep you posted over the next few weeks.

Danity Kane's Aubrey O'Day Likes Dictators, Dislikes Heidi Montag's Playboy spread

2009-09-03T18:57:00.004-04:00

http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/aubrey-oday-loves-fidel-castro-hates-heidi-montag/10486

Aubrey O'Day (whoever that is) says Hitler was brilliant. I'd have to agree with that. You don't seize control of a pretty big country and start a world war by being an idiot.

I also agree that Heidi Montag's Playboy spread was tame and worthless.

The End Of The Zune

2009-09-03T17:12:00.005-04:00

Since 2006, I have been a fan/user of Zunes. I've always felt the Zune software is superior to iTunes, and that the hardware was better produced and more user-friendly. Now word comes today from TwiT Netowkrs host and Microsoft expert, Paul Thurrott that Microsoft will axe the old Zunes, from 4 GB to 120 GB, and go exclusively with the Zune HD (their response to Apple's Ipod Touch).

Does Microsoft HAVE TO copy every move Apple makes? The lousy market share zune got was a perfect example of why this continual Apple emulation won't work. Why not try something original and leave the regular Zunes on the market to pick up some Apple people who don't want an inefficient, annoying touch-screen player when their ipod classics die?

Microsoft needs to step up now and be more of an innovator. These farcical divisions like Zune and Xbox won't last forever if they are only going to copy what other companies do. See John C. Dvorak's column about the demise of Microsoft here

Farewell to the Zune, I hope to see Microsoft change its mind someday soon.

Weeds Season 5 Finale (Small spoilers)

2009-09-01T01:15:00.003-04:00

Just watched the season finale of Weeds. The middle of this season was a lowpoint in the series, but it's really redeemed itself. The twists have me hooked and tonight's cliffhanger was very well done.

I'm sick of the Celia character, she has no depth and the writers are doing a piss-poor job with her plot lines these days. The most recent one (Celia acts like Nancy, even dressing like her) is cringeworthy. Andy's character is still annoying to me but I'm interested in him again, especially with Alanis as a new regular. Shane has become a very interesting character, Silas still is. I don't want to spoil the finale so I won't go into it, but not knowing that this was the finale while I was watching, I wasn't expecting a twist in the final minute. The conversation between Pilar and Nancy had me at the edge of my seat, I found myself actually caring for these characters. Season 6 can't come soon enough.

Sony PS3

2009-08-19T14:54:00.002-04:00

Sony's PlayStation 3 redesign is set to hit stores September 1st.

Video here:

They've ditched the shiny design for one that resembles the PS2 somewhat. The buttons are no longer touch sensitive. The hard drive is removable in case you want to upgrade or you have a problem.

The new chip is just as fast, but doesn't run as hot, reducing power consumption and fan noise. The new PS3 comes with a 120gb hard drive and still has the ability to play Blu-Ray.

I'm a big time Sony hater, but I'm impressed. I have seen Playstation 3's in action before and the video is marvelous. To get that kind of power in a console for $299 is quite a bargain. This is the competition the Wii has needed for some time now.

This time last year I was predicting Sony gaming's demise would not be in the distant future. They may have just saved themselves. The PS3 has gone from an overpriced console nobody wanted to the console that gives you the most bang for your buck, but is it too late in the game?

Welcome to the new and improved blog

2009-08-18T23:53:00.003-04:00

Well, maybe not improved, but new.

This will now be a hub for all my internet shenanigans. I'll post rants and raves and useful links here too. Stay tuned.

A recent experience with Best Buy

2009-08-02T14:26:00.000-04:00

On Friday, July 31 I decided I was going to purchase a netbook. I saw that best buy had a sale on for a Toshiba that had great specs, it was the NB200. I've always disliked Best Buy but I had to go up there anyway for something else, and my Circuit City credit card had recently been changed to a Best Buy one, so I decided to go for it.

My tale begins at the closest Best Buy to my area, the one 25 minutes away, in far Northeast Philadelphia. It was about noon. I spot the computer, ask the man working if they had any in the back, he informs me that they do not. I ask him to tell me where the closest ones are, he tells me a two stores that are 45 minutes away from my home. I thank him and get on my way.

Later that afternoon I place a call to one of the two stores that has it. It rings for 2 minutes and then a woman picks up. I ask for computers and I am dropped. I call back a second time, wait a minute and a half, ask for computers and it goes through. The phone rings for 3 minutes before I am again dropped. The third time I call the woman asks me what i need in computers and I tell her I'm looking to buy this netbook. She says she doesn't know what I'm talking about. I say,"It's in the ad.", kind of annoyed.She says, "Hold on, ma'am." I am taken aback as my voice isn't ambiguous, it's clearly male. People tell me I sound like Leonard Cohen for god's sake! So after 5 minutes of being on hold she says, "Ok, I found it. Now let me check if we have some." So another 5 minutes passes, she tells me she has them, but only in white. I thank her and tell her reserving one won't be necessary, as I was unsure if I wanted it in white at that time.

Now I decide to try BestBuy.com instead. I pick the royal blue version of the computer and add it to my cart. When I try to pay with my best buy credit card, I get an error message. After 10 minutes of changing variables and re-entering fields, I contact support. They inform me that bestbuy has not yet added cards transferred from Circuit City into the online database, so if I wanted to purchase anything online I would need to be crafty and buy an exact amount gift card, or order in store for delivery to my home.

That evening I decide that I want to get it over with and that the white looks nice. So I decide to head to the Best Buy in Cherry Hill, NJ. Here's where the real fun starts. I pick up the computer and a case for it, and the sales clerk takes the two up to the customer service desk for checkout. There were 3 actual checkouts, ALL 3 had attendants and NO customers. But we were put in line at geek squad. Meanwhile, at the same customer service desk, a young woman sat biting her nails, like there was nothing to do, despite the line of customers 3 people long. So when it's finally my turn, a man jumps in front of me and claims he was waiting for geek squad off to the side. So after about 15 minutes of waiting in line, with 4 other attendants doing nothing (not to mention the registers in each individual section), I FINALLY get to pay for my stuff. I buy the stuff, get all the way home and find that, much like me after an excursion to best buy, the power button is in a state of depression. The computer I spent hours trying to get is broken. So I pack everything back in the box and call the store back. They had 2 in stock when I purchased mine, so I figured I could get them to hold the other. After 3 minutes of waiting for someone to pick up, a woman that sounded like she just woke up answered. This woman didn't know what I was talking about. When I told her the model number she said, "That's not a model number." I said, "Really? Because Toshiba and Bestbuy.com say it is." She didn't know what was going on and said, "Yeah it's all gone we're out." So I ended the call.

A final telephone call took place, it was with the Willow Grove Store. After 2 minutes of waiting for someone to answer, the man informed me that only 2 were left. The call took place 30 minutes before closing time.

Best Buy Representative:Uhh...we got 2 here.
Me:Ok, can you hold one for me, because I just bought one and it's defective. I'll need to come in tomorrow and exchange.
Best Buy REPRESENTATIVE: :cough: My manager won't let me hold it, dude...
Me:Ugh.
I hang up and wait for the next day.

One other store in my area had the computer in stock. Willow Grove, PA. After an hour long drive we finally get there. I attempt to return the defective computer, which I do not blame BB for. The woman at returns tells me I have to wait for Geek Squad to look at it. There are 3 people ahead of me in that line. I am with some other people so they hold the broken one and wait in line while I run over to secure a (presumably) working one, I dash to the computer, grab the card and tell the attendant. "Please get me one of these so I can bring it to customer service." He looks at me and says very patronizingly, "Alright, go put that back and I'll get the computer." That was the cherry on top for me. After being violated numerous times by BB customer service in the past 24 hours, I was now subjected to this fat, sweaty, sales clerk's authority. That was wrong. I was tired because this was about 10:30 on Saturday morning and I had to wake up at 7:30 to get ready and get there.

So back in the Geek Squad line, a young woman and her husband were visibly upset with Geek Squad's limited knowledge of portable external hard drives. It was almost my turn, finally, so after about 15 minutes of waiting in line the man looks at the power button, presses it, stares at it some more and says, "Ok, return it." So now the return line, which was empty when I got there, now had 3 people in it, I walked around and demanded the exchange happen right now, I wasn't going to wait in line again, I had had enough. She processed it and I walked out with a working computer. A day later I haven't found a problem with it. This is the last time I will ever deal with Best Buy. I gave them a chance because the Circuit City credit card was a good payment option for me right now. If ever a situation like that arises again, I'll wait for whatever electronic I need rather than give any money to Best Buy.

Bing and Boing

2009-06-07T09:57:00.000-04:00

Maybe Bing will be be better than google,

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=jenna+jameson&go=&form=QBIR&filt=custom

http://images.google.com/images?q=jenna%20jameson&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

Daytime Nobodies Stage a "Gotcha moment" on Keith Olbermann

2009-05-26T18:07:00.003-04:00

Let's go point by point.
Gregalogue? This is already annoying. Ok, starting out with a parody of Olbermann's special comment and a misinterpretation, or more likely a flat out spin of Keith Olbermann's sarcastic "thank god religion had nothing to do with it" comment. Dolphin tattoo, eh? I bet you just rake in the pussy. "Dumbass comedians", good way to deal with people you disagree with, no wonder no one watches this show. Calling terrorists "looooosers" like a high school jock, mature discussion of the issue. I realize this is supposed to be an over the top parody of the sometimes over the top special comments, but you're the only one looking bad here.

Finally this shitty bit is over, and you can go back to being loony and without charm, instead of just unfunny and without charm.

"Keith Olbermann went off his meds again." Let's see prescriptions, Greg. Notice the difference between the way Keith speaks in the clip and the way you speak about the clip. Keith's language is poetic and tough. It is thought provoking.'Olby' is a "High school goth?" You've played two clips now and you have not yet addressed any of his actual message, just this wimpy bullshit about his looks and the way he speaks. "You wanna take him (Olbermann) home and forget to feed him for a few weeks."
Classy. Clip of a clown doll and an attack on Keith Olbermann's hair. I don't know why you aren't for gay marriage, you're clearly gay, Greg.

First question,"Is Olby insane?"

First we'll go to blonde bimbo. What a surprise, Kelly Bundy agrees.
Kelly thinks Olby is wrong and just has an agenda against Dick. He did lead to the deaths of Americans, blondie, in his company's faulty showers, in the unjustified war on Iraq, by ignoring intelligence from the Clinton administration, intelligence reports that said there was going to be an attack! My god, I can actually feel my brain cells dropping off. What's sad is she's the most intelligent on the panel.

Now we'll go to some guy that looks like he was crushed under an elevator with the second question,

"So Keith's arguing even when you're right, you're wrong. Isn't that the perfect lefty argument?"

That doesn't even make any sense, but ok. I don't even get what this guy's doing. It's like Jack Black but somehow even less funny.

This next guy looks like Bill Hicks if he had the figure of the Stay-Puff marshmallow. The only thing he has to say is "I think he may have said negrigent'". Compelling argument...not.

So so far Keith Olbermann is an awful person because he forgot to take his meds, fumbled over one word during an emotional speech, and he hates Dick Cheney so no matter what Dick says Keith shouldn't talk about it. This is 4 minutes and 45 seconds in for god's sake!

Next guy looks like one of those snake oil fucks from late night cable tv if he got he put a fork in the electrical socket. Keith's "not self-aware enough to realize how nutty he is." Another brilliant point, Keith is BOOOORING and uses the word "sir" too much.

Ok, now it looks like we'll finally have an ACTUAL POINT the argument.

"Keith says the terrorist plots foiled were laughable and that includes the would be synagogue bombing. This is exactly as I predicted the left would say in my Gregalogue."

Well aren't you a regular Nostradamus?

Now on to some douche I've never seen before that reminds me of this cocky high school teacher I had. "Unless you count Keith Olbermann, and oh, who does really?"

Wait, stop, stop, you're telling me all those people on that panel were for one 5 minute segment?!

New guy corrects panelist on the Oliver Cromwell quote used by Keith. Bill Hicks lookalike says,"Oh, ok, I was thinking of a different Oliver Cromwell." Yeah, which one would that be? Asshole. He looks like a first grader that shit his pants and is now embarrassed.

Now the old Ann Coulter argument that Keith's diploma is 'fake' because he got it from the AG school, not the main campus, even though the classes and curriculum were the exact same at the time.

"Can you have it both ways? He says,'at worst Cheney is negligent in the deaths of 9/11', but he also says 'Cheney hasn't kept us safe since.'"

I don't see how those conflict with each other. I assume Keith meant Cheney's negligence caused the deaths, which I do believe is true.

It was an annoying clip the whole way through and irritating to watch. At the end an attack on Keith's signature ending of the show with the number of days since Bush declared "mission accomplished in Iraq." The commentator said,"Will you let it go?"
At this point I became offended and angry.

We've lost so many men and women in Iraq, AMERICAN men and women, soldiers who went out there to defend speech for even idiots like you, because George W Bush told them their freedoms were under attack by Saddam Hussein, when in actuality the writers of the Patriot Act did worse to American freedoms than Saddam had ever done. How can you be so heartless as to ask someone to stop pointing out that those men and women died when they shouldn't have, all because the person pointing it out disagrees with you? You are a coward and you don't deserve the right to be on the air.

I'm no Olbermann apostle, I've disagreed with him in the past and I wish he'd be tougher on Obama, but his criticism of Dick Cheney is spot on in my eyes, and even more important, the panel on FOX news is so off on this, morally, intellectually, and civilly wrong.

Glenn Beck is A Scary Man

2009-03-30T00:41:00.000-04:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/30/business/media/30beck.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

Glenn Beck hints at insurrection, then calls fans who "take what he says as gospel 'idiots'". How about some responsibility, Mr.Beck? (like he's reading this).

New Howard Stern Show Rundowns

2009-01-31T12:06:00.002-05:00

I've done some more Stern show rundowns for Marksfriggin.com, you can use the link in my sidebar under, "I Also Write Here" to read my stuff. Check out the rest of his site if you're a Stern fan, it's the best fan site on the net.

Keith Olbermann:The Bush Presidency - 8 Years In 8 Minutes

2009-01-18T00:58:00.001-05:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I thought this was a great look back on the past 8 years.

Circuit City To Go Out Of Business

2009-01-16T17:15:00.002-05:00

From MSNBC,

"Bankrupt Circuit City Stores Inc., unable to work out a sale of the company, said Friday it will go out of business — closing its 567 U.S. stores and cutting 30,000 jobs.

The nation's second-biggest consumer electronics retailer is the latest casualty of an unprecedented pullback in consumer spending that has driven other brands such as KB Toys, Mervyns LLC and Linens 'N Things into bankruptcy. Experts believe there will be more to come.

"This is the only possible path for our company," Circuit City's acting Chief Executive James A. Marcum said in a statement. "We are extremely disappointed by this outcome."

This is a major loss to the technology world. In the Philadelphia area, your only two real options are Best Buy and Circuit City. With Circuit City gone, consumers are forced to shop at the consumer-unfriendly Best Buy.

I bought many items over the years at Circuit City, including my very first computer back in the early 90s. Over the years I've bought every camera I've ever owned there, every computer, every mp3 player, and nearly every video game. The deals were most often superb and the customer service always fair. They were the ideal company for electronics consumers who knew what they wanted, and wanted it at a low price.

I will miss Circuit City, as it was the only electronics store I would do business with. I will NEVER shop at Best Buy. From now on I will purchase anything I need online. Although they are confirmed gone, I'm still holding out hope that someone will buy them.

At least they had a good run, here's to you, Circuit City. I'll be there grabbing up all the liquidation deals I can.

No Cussing Club

2009-01-09T19:24:00.003-05:00

Well it seems the latest internet sensation is a club started by a 14 year old that supports banning and outlawing "cussing." The reason given by the kid, McKay Hatch, was that he was sick of hearing his friends "talk foul." McKay believes he is a rap sensation, which is quite comical considering most of his gestures are lame imitations of gangsta rappers, the group responsible for the most gratuitous usage of "cussing."

Here is his music video, complete with unbelievable plot line in which he gets two grown men in the park to apologize to him for their "cussing."

Someone on Encyclopedia Dramatica pointed out that at 1:15, a girl in the backround throws a rock at the group.(She's on your right). Thanks for that.

But it's never been my thing to come down on a kid too hard for something like this, it clearly starts at home. Let's start by examining their lives. Brent Hatch is the author of "Raising a G-Rated Family in an X-Rated World." I think he's just another conman trying to make a quick buck and gain fame by playing into the public's belief that the world is "X-rated" and that sex is a terrible thing, but sufficient information about if he practices what he preaches is not available. Now you may have noticed in the music video, the nice little plug for his father's mantra. "Let me restate it, keep it 'G rated.'"

Now of course the book being only ~$10 is not enough to sustain an income for a family of 9, so instead of getting a real job, Brent and his wife sell "hug cards," glorified mood rings that tell how badly you need a hug (it's scientifically accurate).

When you join the club you agree to this policy, "I won't cuss, swear, use bad language, or tell dirty jokes. Clean language is the sign of intelligence and always demands respect. I will use my language to uplift, encourage and motivate. I will Leave People Better Than I Found Them!"

Let's pick that apart.

"I won't cuss, swear, use bad language,"

George Carlin must be spinning in his grave. "There is no such thing as bad language, folks, bad thoughts, bad intentions, but not bad words."

"I won't...tell dirty jokes."
Someone call Jackie Martling.

"Clean language is the sign of intelligence"
Really? THE one sign of intelligence is so-called "clean language?" Perhaps they should focus less on so-called 'clean language' and more on so-called 'proper English.' And what about clean language makes you sound intelligent anyway? Everyday I hear at least 20 people that sound like dopes yammering in my ear about nonsense, and they all use "clean language." But then there are brilliant people like George Carlin, Lewis Black, and Howard Stern that use "cussing" and "dirty language" that make more statements of import in one show than these anti-'dirty language' people have in their entire lifetime.

"Clean language is the sign of intelligence and always demands respect."
Yes, every time I hear someone say "sugar" instead of "shit," I think, "Quite a respectable person."

"I will Leave People Better Than I Found Them!"
Unless those people are still learning about sentence structure and capitalization.

No Cussing Club supports the usage of legislation to restrict usage of cussing, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23499957/

I end with a comical parody of the No Cussing Club rap video, as well as McKay's appearance on some lame Christian award show.

For more information on the No Cussing Club,
http://nocussing.com/
http://encyclopediadramatica.com/No_Cussing_Club

Some music...updates coming this weekend

2009-01-09T19:19:00.003-05:00

Someone reminded me I haven't updated since October so I decided to post some new content on here. Here's some of my favorite music in the meantime.

Johnny Cash - Highway Patrolman

School Of Fish - 3 Strange Days

Leonard Cohen - Everybody Knows

Alison Krauss - Steel Rails

10 Features I'd Like To See in Zune 3.1

2008-10-17T22:30:00.004-04:00

Zune 3.0 just released last month, but I'm not satisfied yet. Most of these would work with ipod too.

1.New category - Radio Shows.
I have a lot of shows I record from Sirius, XM, or even FM and AM. It's awful having to import them as podcasts without cover art. If you import them as music, you don't get to save your place in the file. That's why, either as a new item on the menu, or in the podcast section, Microsoft should add a 'radio shows' section.

2.Zune Wireless Messenger - a chat client that takes advantage of the zune's wifi antenna. It could even be a Trillian port, this would give more people a reason to buy and use Zunes.

3.Satellite Tuning Capability - Ok, this one's unrealistic, but wouldn't it be great to recieve Sirius or XM streams on your Zune?

4.Wireless Internet Radio - Using the Zune's wifi antenna to connect to internet radio stations. Many FM and AM stations stream online, as well as small time djs and satellite services.

5 and 6.Advanced Text Reader with a larger screen, similar to the Amazon Kindle. This could give Microsoft an advantage and renew an interest in reading.

7.Camera - People could take and send pictures with their zunes.

8.Improved Now Playing menu - Artist info, catalog search for the artist currently playing, and the ability to connect to the online store and look at what they have on the marketplace for that artist. Also, related artists. For example, if Pink Floyd is playing, you could search through your pink floyd catalog, your roger waters song, your sid barrett music, and your David Gilmour music. Or The Beatles, George Harrison, Billy Preston,Lennon, etc...

9.Social Networking - Last.fm meets Facebook. Users could trade photos, music, videos, text messages, and other things across the globe. With the extremely expensive text messaging rate phone companies charge, this would be a great advantage for microsoft, or apple, whoever wanted to do it.

10.Microphone and live broadcast support via wifi - A few players have built in microphones, and they are a neat addition. I'm proposing that one of these mp3 player companies (I'm looking at you, Microsoft) builds a mic into one of their models, and through wifi connectivity, allows for live broadcasts between friends, or to their computer. Basically it's a phone, except the mic on here would be higher quality, and it would record to a podcast for archival and rss feed posting.

Honorary Mention - FM recorder - The ability to record FM radio as you listen to your hard drive.

I want to hear from you. What do you want in the new Zune firmware? Do you even have a Zune? Or do you prefer ipod? Let me know in the comments.

If Senator Obama is assassinated, McCain/Palin Should Be Held Responsible and Prosecuted

2008-10-17T17:59:00.003-04:00

Senator John McCain, you are disgusting. Your POW status will no longer get you by. Some of your personal attacks are pretty low, but none are as bad as your recent insinuations and outright statements that Senator Barrack Obama is a terrorist, hangs around with terrorists, and wants to harm America. What's even worse is that you now don't have enough courage to own up to the statements, or even attempt to quench the anger of your fans, inspired by you with a desire to "kill (and) bomb" your running mate who has done nothing wrong. All so you can ascertain more power. You're a power hungry tyrant and a disgrace to all veterans. You're campaign was poorly run and now a man may die because you refuse to admit defeat.

You call yourself a man of character. Is that what a man of character does? Does someone with character sit on one's hands until a man is killed? I don't think so. Does a man of character leave his wife immediately after she is in a horrible accident? Does a man of character call his wife a "cunt" in front of THREE reporters? I think not.

Senator, you have the nerve to say you put country first, but in reality, it's all about you. You are a greedy, selfish, power hungry, evil, senile, old man and your record continually shows it.

And a note to all vets and those currently serving in the military, John McCain's own daughter believes that, "no one knows what war is like except for my family."

It's people like you that are ruining this great nation with your lies, distortion of the truth, and calls to violence. Your new bimbo Sarah Palin isn't much in the way of decency or humanity either. She's just as bad as you. It puts a smile on my face when I think about this January. In with the change. Out with the trash! (And no, I'm not referring to your stolen campaign mantra which does nothing more than put lipstick on a pig.)

Sirius.com Reveals New A La Carte Plan Specifics

2008-09-30T13:20:00.002-04:00

This package is not compatible with your current radio.
Not Available A LA CARTE GOLD
Create your own personalized package of 100 channels. Choose from the full SIRIUS lineup, plus some of the hottest channels from XM. There are no extra charges for Premium channels, Howard Stern or live games and races from the NFL, NASCAR, college sports and more. This package does not include free online listening with SIRIUS Internet Radio (32k); choose a SIRIUS EVERYTHING package if you want to listen online. Requires an A La Carte-capable SIRIUS Radio. See complete package details. $14.99 / month.

This package is not compatible with your current radio.
Not Available A LA CARTE
Choose what you want to listen to. Pick 50 channels from a selection of SIRIUS' 100% commercial-free music, sports talk, entertainment, news, traffic and weather channels to create your own personalized package. Does not include live games or races. Premium channels cost extra. This package does not include free online listening with SIRIUS Internet Radio (32k); choose a SIRIUS EVERYTHING package if you want to listen online. Requires an A La Carte-capable SIRIUS Radio. See complete package details. Starting at $6.99 / month.

Each premium channel is an additional 25¢ / month, up to a maximum monthly package price of $12.95.

This package is not compatible with your current radio.
Not Available A LA CARTE + HOWARD
Add the one and only Howard Stern. Get both of Howard's 24/7 channels and hear what you've been missing. All for an additional $6.00 / month. This package does not include free online listening with SIRIUS Internet Radio (32k); choose a SIRIUS EVERYTHING package if you want to listen online. Requires an A La Carte-capable SIRIUS Radio. See complete package details. Total price: $12.95 / month.

This package is not compatible with your current radio.
Not Available A LA CARTE + SPORTS
Keep up with your favorite sports by adding SIRIUS' sports line up. Hear 24/7 sports talk channels and get live games and races from the NFL, NASCAR, college sports and more. All for an additional $5.00 / month. This package does not include free online listening with SIRIUS Internet Radio (32k); choose a SIRIUS EVERYTHING package if you want to listen online. Requires an A La Carte-capable SIRIUS Radio. See complete package details. Total price: Starting at $11.99 / month.

Each Premium channel is an additional 25¢ / month, up to a maximum monthly package price of $12.95.

This package is not compatible with your current radio.
Not Available A LA CARTE + HOWARD + SPORTS
Add two channels from the one and only Howard Stern and live games and races from the NFL, NASCAR, college sports and more. This package does not include free online listening with SIRIUS Internet Radio (32k); choose a SIRIUS EVERYTHING package if you want to listen online. Requires an A La Carte-capable SIRIUS Radio. See complete package details. Total price: $12.95 / month.

These Plans don't make much sense to me. I don't understand why you would drop content from your bill but pay the same. Hopefully these models will be worked on before they're released.

Comcast

2008-09-30T00:07:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow (October 1st) marks the beginning of Comcast's new plan to fuck their customers over. Throughout the past few months, Comcast has been throttling speeds of subscribers they believe overstep the boundaries set by Comcast, of course there are no actual boundaries written into the user agreements, so the consumer has to guess how much bandwidth is too much, despite the fact that they advertise unlimited service.

That's bad enough, but starting October 1st, Comcast subscribers will have a total monthly bandwidth usage limit of 250gb. Not 250 gb up, 250 gb down. 250 gb total is the allotment. Why is this so horrible you may ask? I mean, 250 gb is a lot of data. Well, 250gb is a LOT less than unlimited. Some websites stream video to paying customers, for example, Netflix and Amazon. So if you're using 2 gb per movie to stream a movie a day, 6 days a week, that works out to 48gb per month. So now we're left with about 200 gb. Well, not really, here's the thing, sending packet data and other files needed to use the internet takes up bandwidth. Even something as simple as going to your favorite news site could require several mb, if they embed images. Every email you send, every picture you download or view online, every time you search google, uses up a portion of that 250 gb. It's not such a large number when you look at it that way.

Say you're an online gamer, well, playing those games takes bandwidth as well, so that counts against it. What if you're a music fan, and you pay for a service such as Zune Pass or Rhapsody that allows you to download an unlimited amount of music each month for around $15, well, that's no longer unlimited.

Now, I ask you, what if you do all of the above? What if you stream movies from Netflix, stream internet radio, play a game online with your friends, view photos from your family members, send emails, and download music? Well, get ready to give up a few of the above with Comcast's new plan.

Defend your right to unlimited access, call Comcast and tell them you won't tollerate this, tell Netflix and Amazon to stand up to the industry bully Comcast, call the FCC and tell them you support their fight against Comcast. FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, PEOPLE, TAKE ACTION!

What is it with the people in this country and their inability to face the facts?

2008-09-13T11:26:00.002-04:00

"We aren't voting for Reverend Wright, we're voting for Barack Obama."

Yeah, that's true, but Wright was Obama's 'spiritual advisor.' Which literally means, he ADVISES HIM. Wright's out-there beliefs factor in.

But even worse is one I heard on Real Time With Bill Maher last week,

"We aren't voting for vice president, we're voting for president."

In a race where either candidate could go at any time, vice presidents are more important than ever. I can see why no one cares about Palin's lack of experience though, because we have more important things to worry about, like what Obama was talking about when he used the common expression, "put lipstick on a pig," and flag burning amendments. Why is it so hard for people to give gays their rights? Why is this such a long debate? It's America, land of the free. What are we doing in this country? Why are we such time-wasters?

Radio In Philadelphia Gets Darker

2008-09-07T23:26:00.002-04:00

97.5 (WJJZ) provided smooth jazz to this blogger and many others in the Philadelphia area. WJJZ was my go-to station for shower music. But this week Greater Media decided to pull the plug on Philadelphia's only smooth jazz station.

As I turned the volume knob on my shower radio, I expected to hear Sade or Bobby Brown. Perhaps even Duke Ellington or Ronny James. I was greeted instead by Shaggy's "Angel". Oddly, the same song I'd heard last time I listened to that station, just a day ago. As I listened, waiting for smooth jazz, I heard TLC, followed by No Doubt. No smooth jazz was played. It's possible I was on the wrong station, but according to WJJZ's website, the station has indeed undergone a format change, though it does not say if it is yet in effect. WJJZ stuck it out for 2 years with the smooth jazz format, but the format proved unsellable.

I'm sad to see WJJZ go. I guess this is just further proof that FM radio is no place for anything other than Top 40 and rap. So now my list of good FM stations goes from 3 to 2. Now there's no need to go beyond 90.1. FM radio is dying, and it's a welcome funeral. The need for satellite radio has become more apparent with the death of WJJZ. There I can hear about 8 different jazz stations, commercial free. Sirius-XM prevails over FM once again.

So goodbye, WJJZ, swallowing the harsh pill that is FM radio in Philadelphia just got a little less smooth.

This blog

2008-08-04T21:20:00.002-04:00

I'm not sure what to do with this blog really. I write for other sites, as you can see if you look to the toolbar to your right. I don't index those posts here, so it seems like it could be a hassle for people to read what I blog about if they have to visit other sites. I have to figure it all out sometime in the near future.

Sirius XM Radio

2008-07-31T22:20:00.001-04:00

The merger between Sirius and XM satellite radio was approved this week by the Federal Communications Commission. The CEO of the combined company, Mel Karmazin, made numerous media appearances to promote and explain it.

His first stop was The Howard Stern Show, which airs on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Audio here

Stern and Karmazin discussed content availability and Mel's plans for the future. However, no pricing details, nor contract details were discussed.

After visiting the Stern show, Karmazin went over to The Opie and Anthony Show, which airs on XM, where he discussed plans for the future, content availability, and other jocks.

Audio here

His third and final appearance was on CNBC, where he discussed the Sirius XM stock, and how the new company will fare against media giants like Clear Channel, and CBS Radio. Mel stated that he plans to "take the marketplace by storm."

Video here

Karmazin plans to release further plans as soon as possible.

First Post

2008-07-31T21:02:00.000-04:00

I used to host a blog here with all sorts of links, photos, and jokes. I abandoned it about a year ago and I've now decided to start blogging again. I hope to update this site very often. I hope you enjoy reading what I have to say.