Could this be another faux pas by our dear Simon Cowell? Two in two nights? It really does look like he’s sending a secret message to either Sanjaya or Ryan Seacrest (we’ll assume Lakisha and Blake are safe from this gesture).
Can we expect really expect anything much from Simon Cowell? After Mel Gibson, Michael Richards, and Don Imus, do celebrities not understand the ramifications of their actions? This was pretty lame and low, even from Simon…
Simon did try to redeem himself, perhaps after being notified his eye-rolling was caught on camera? After Blake Lewis’ performance, he chimes, “On a more serious note, just to pick up on what Ryan said, on behalf of the three of us, we would also like to offer our best wishes and support to the families of this tragedy as well.”
Apparently, Nintendo didn’t supply stores with enough accessories and other goodies, as there were shortages of Wii Remotes, Nunchuks, and Classic Controllers everywhere, not to mention that Wii Component cables were rare too. I did see one store have the a UPC tag with Wii component cables for $60, but it was sold out.
So what do you do if you are looking for accessories? Most stores will be getting more shipments for Wii stuff in the upcoming weeks, but for those that are impatient, there is the official Nintendo store, where one can find Wii Remotes, Nunchuks, Classic Controllers, component cables, as well as remote wrist straps, for those of you (ahem, Jim) that may have had the straps break on them. Looks like Nintendo underestimated the demand for component cables, as they ran out of their initial allotment, and will begin shipping more starting November 28, 2006.
“Due to high demand, our initial allotment of the Wii Component Video Cables has been depleted. We expect to begin shipping again the week of November 28, 2006. The Wii Component Video Cable will also be available at select retail stores (Best Buy, GameStop, Circuit City) in early/mid December.”
At least the wrist strap is a reasonable $1.00 for each.
62605 Classic Controller 1 $19.99
62613 Nunchuk 1 $19.99
62606 Wii Component Video Cable 1 $29.95
62614 Wii Remote 1 $39.99
62622 Wii Remote Wrist Strap 1 $1.00
You can get expedited UPS shipping as well, regular shipping is $5.00. You may just be able to get these accessories before your local store does, as it looks like the above items are in stock. Nintendo does list the Wii Battery Cover / Holder as out of stock: The Battery Cover/Holder is currently on back order. We expect to begin shipping this part the week of December 4, 2006.
There is sales tax for orders shipping to AR, CA, FL, GA, IL, IN, MA, MI, NE, NJ, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, WA and WI.
Pretty interesting Google Video’s main page highlights Christine Model Free 5, which shows a rather bouncy swimwear model, and “My Nigga Alex”, showing some true gangsta activities, including drinking beer, showing his gat, miming the motion to smoke a joint, and flinging money around (they look more like Washingtons rather than Benjamins to me) as “Popular Videos.” Click on the image above to see the full size version.
Just how pleased will CBS and the NBA be to see such quality videos right alongside CSI, Survivor, and Kobe’s 81-point performance. Hmm…. Doesn’t seem too family-friendly, does it? There also was no option to filter results for a “child-friendly” experience. Tsk, tsk, Google, are we slipping now?
So, I was watching one of my favorite shows Veronica Mars (something about high school kids always gets me, or something…), and low and behold, I see Veronica Mars has a GMail account! For all those curious, the email address shown (I had to rewind this a few times as it only showed up for a quick second) is vmars1987@gmail.com
I just sent off an email to the address and it hasn’t bounced yet, so I assume it’s good. Also just checked the availability of vmars1987 and it is indeed taken. For a show that’s written so smartly and geekily (they referenced the Star Wars kid and Paris Hilton as being Internet download laughingstocks), it’s no surprise that they’d drop in a GMail reference on her Powerbook. Though, technically, she was going to use it to spam everyone to get revenge for Carmen in the episode. I wonder what Google thinks about that? Thank you UPN for picking up the show for a second season! 
So, fine, Shirley Manson and crew had to postpone last Friday’s show at the Paramount in Seattle due to sickness. That’s fine, and us fans can understand postponing a concert, but there’s no word on it anywhere on Garbage.com, the band’s official site. Not one “sorry, we’ll be back” or even word on why they cancelled. It’s disappointing enough that the show was postponed, it was after all the first US tour date on Garbage’s Bleed Like Me tour, but keeping your fans in the dark just ain’t right, especially for such an Internet-friendly band. Since missing the gig, the band has put up several updates on their site, such as a Stupid Girl video, and the news that Why Do You Love Me hit #7 in the UK charts. But c’mon now, us fans in Seattle were waiting all weekend to hear if the show would be on anytime, since the Seattle P-I reported the show may have been rescheduled for Saturday night. A simple, “we’re sorry, we’re sick, we’ll reschedule” would have sufficed. Oh yeah, and Ticketmaster called me today, to let me know that the show was postponed. Well, gee thanks, if only you’d told me BEFORE I drove all the way out to the Paramount for nothing.
So Shirley, to make it up to me, I’ll take a private concert from you and the boys next time you’re in town…
Yes, when you are a bigtime fan, and want to rub elbows with the Donald (for a bon voyage party) and some of the elite Apprentice cast (yeah, right), and you got some money to blow, why, you can book yourself for sail on the Trump World Legend ship on Carnival Cruise Lines for a trip September 26 to October 4, 2005. Hey, it only starts at $1199 per person, and I know you want to meet Raj (Mr. Bowtie) and Stacie J. (loony Subway restauranteur). Don’t miss out!
Man, what will Howard Stern talk about all day on his show on Sirius satellite radio, now that the FCC has said they won’t muck up the satellite airwaves since it is a pay service and thus, not under their control. Who’s his next target going to be? More Bush bashing? It’s either going to be real interesting or real dull come January 2006.
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Howard Stern will be free to be indecent on satellite radio, the Federal Communications Commission effectively said Wednesday—a decision that should also make cable- and satellite-TV providers breathe easier, at least for now.
The FCC declined to open a proceeding on whether satellite radio is indecent, saying that it is a subscription service and that the agency has already ruled that such services “do not call into play the issue of indecency.”
I really don’t remember the last time I stepped foot in a theater, perhaps it was The Matrix Reloaded at the Cinerama in downtown Seattle. I’d like to see a lot more new releases, but just haven’t felt the rush to, knowing that DVD releases are only a few short months away and that I can sit my ass comfortably at home instead of trekking all the way to the theater, paying ridiculuous amounts of money for popcorn and pop, waiting through ads before the movies (and I don’t mean the previews either), and having obnoxious kids and cell phone talkers annoy me with their chatter.
So thus, I would probably be willing to watch the movie over satellite via Pay-Per-View or if the DVD release came out the same day, I’d get it or Netflix it. I know there’s VCDs or other illicit methods of watching new release movies, but I just can’t stand the quality of VCD myself. I wonder if we’ll ever see the day that this happens, with simulatenous releases of new movies at theaters, on PPV, and DVD the same day. I can only hope, no?
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For example, Cuban and Wagner plan to buck the Hollywood system of releasing movies over many months, through separate windows for theaters, pay-per-view, DVD, and broadcast TV. Instead, Cuban said, they intend to attempt “day-and-date releases,” in which their films premiere simultaneously on Landmark screens, HDNet, and DVD. “We think it’s a way of maximizing our revenues, controlling marketing costs, and adding value to our brands,” he said. “And we don’t think giving people alternatives to going to the theater will hurt us at the box office. It’s just like with the Mavericks: We still sell out the games even though they’re on free TV.”
While we’ve seen Paramount Pictures threaten a BitTorrent user back in February, now the MPAA has gone ahead and followed the music industry in suing its users. No details were mentioned on how many lawsuits they filed or on which file-sharing networks the users were on, but it seems likely they would target BitTorrent users. So beware, next time you load up your P2P client, they may be watching…
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LOS ANGELES (AP) – A trade group representing seven major movie studios filed a first wave of lawsuits against individuals they say are offering pirated copies of films using Internet-based peer-to-peer file sharing programs. The Motion Picture Association of America announced the federal court suits Tuesday, but did not say how many defendants were sued or where the lawsuits were filed. The group also did not immediately make available a copy of the complaint.
The lawsuits seek injunctions against the defendants. The copyright law also provides for penalties of up to $30,000 for each motion picture traded over the Internet, and up to $150,000 if such infringement is shown to be willful. The MPAA said it would also make available a computer program that sniffs out movie and music files on a user’s computer as well as any installed file sharing programs.