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Monday, February 28, 2011

The Music Industry's Future

The music industry is currently undergoing a complete overhaul. Depending how you look at it the imminent death of major record labels may or may not be a good thing. Many people hate huge record labels because they 'always sign artists that sound like the same like Kesha or Katy Perry', but at the same time many people are grateful for the big record labels because they have the startup money many new bands need to get off the ground.

With their death we will see much less mainstream music, there will no longer be Lady Gaga's or Nickelbacks, instead we will begin to see more and more underground bands emerging through the Internet. It seems like a great thing because who doesn't love more music? But if no bands are able to get enough publicity then the concert industry is going to completely die. And since thats where bands make their money, if theres no more concerts then there will be no more bands.

An open letter to Charlie Sheen

Mr. Sheen,

Get off your pedestal already. You already earn $1.8 million an episode, do you really need that raise you're demanding of $3 million? No, you dont.

It's true that your show may be the most successful show on television right now, but that is not through anything you've done. Your acting is at par at best, it is because of the writers and creators that you even have a show. Treat them with respect.

Keep your $1.8 million. While it is a ridiculous amount considering the cast of Friends did not receive even $1 million each until the very last season, which was a hell of a lot better of a show then 2 1/2 Men will ever be, if that's what you're currently getting then that is what you should be paid. Don't be an idiot, once your show ends you're not going to get much more work.

Grow up you tool.

-Mallison

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The price of quality

In a time when TV ratings are rapidly declining, it would appear as though the number of quality shows is increasing. One particular station that seems to be producing nothing but gems right now is Showtime.

Dexter, Californication, and the new show Shameless are all some of the most well-written and produced shows I've ever seen. They don't make the viewer wait 15 minutes for something to happen, they make the viewer want nothing to happen for 15 minutes just so they can figure out exactly how the story just got from point A to point B. 

The problem with Showtime is that it is not a basic cable channel. If you want the shows you're going to have to pay for them. I would have no problem with this, except that I for one just don't have the time to sit down and watch enough shows to make it worth the money. And I know you can watch the episodes all online, but why should I have to pay as much for something that costs them even less? I think it would be in Showtimes best interest to offer some sort of service where viewers can watch their shows for say 99 cents an episode, I'm sure more people would be willing to spend a buck to view it than 3.99 to buy the episode on Itunes.

I recently saw a statistic somewhere that said Dexter has an average of 12 million viewers and 6 million illegal viewers. Think of all the money to be made by providing a reasonable outlet to those 6 million viewers. Seems like a wasted opportunity to me right now.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

An Unnecessary Panic

It seems as if parents are attempting to fight the digital revolution now more than ever before. I constantly hear about parents not wanting their kids to play video games, that they spend too much time on their phones, or that all they ever do is sit on their computers. Parents think their kids need to be out with their friends, socializing instead of sitting in isolation. 1 question parents; what do you think your kids are doing with all these technological advances?

They're socializing. They're on their phones talking/texting their friends, they're on facebook chatting and interacting with other kids, they're strategizing and chatting with their friends while playing their video games. The world is changing people, for the better in some ways and for the worse in others, and you just need to accept it. No matter how much you try to fight it, you're never going to beat it. 

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

It's Snowing?

So. Much. Snow. What is normally a 15 minute commute took me over an hour today, and that was after it was only snowing an hour. School's cancelled tomorrow which is a great thing because I don't even want to imagine what my commute would be like tomorrow.

I can't help but laugh though at everyone thats been piling into the grocery stores these past few days. We're supposed to get 18-24 inches people, that means we MAY be stuck indoors for 2 days. Do you really not have enough food in your cabinets that you can last 2 freaking days? I went inside Jewel last night just to get a Coke and I was waiting in the self-checkout for a good 15 minutes, and this was 10 oclock at night. People need to learn to relax.

Stay safe,
Mallison