Velvet

Oscar organizers attempt to block company from selling gala's tickets Last Updated: Wednesday, January 28, 2009 | 9:19 AM ET Comments0Recommend3The Associated Press The organization that presents the Academy Awards is suing an Arizona company that it claims is selling tickets to this year's show. The U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences filed a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles on Monday to block Phoenix-based McMurry Inc. from selling a luxury ticket package to the Feb. 22 show. The seven-night package starts at $175,000 US, according to the lawsuit and McMurry's website. The Academy's suit claims that McMurry plans to sell at least four of the high-end packages that promise pampering and a strut down the red carpet. It advertises a seven-night stay at a Bel Air hotel, access to celebrity stylists and a camera crew to record the experience. Oscar tickets are not transferrable, a policy the Academy says is aimed at keeping out stalkers and terrorists. The Academy considers people who use traded or bought Oscar tickets trespassers. An email sent to McMurry seeking comment was not immediately returned. The academy has filed similar lawsuits in the past to block scalpers from selling seats and recently won a judgment in state court against people who sold tickets to the 2007 show. Tickets for this year's ceremony, which will be held at Hollywood's Kodak Theater, have not yet been distributed, Academy attorney David Quinto said. It is considered the movie industry's premier event, attracting the biggest names in acting, directing and film production. He attributed the exorbitant price of this year's tickets to the success of previous efforts to block ticket sales. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2009/01/28/oscar-lawsuit-ticketsale.html

http://blip.fm/velvetvelvet

So I think I get it - it's essentially making a mixed tape that people can listen to, but I find their FAQ vague at best, though I find the site interesting enough that I'm gonna play around and try to figure it out. I'm velvetvelvet there. By the way, I've been listening to your mix Mike, and I quite like it.

What is blip and/or blipping?

Oh, and bring your own large plastic cup for the resort. They serve drinks in glasses so small you need to order them six at a time.

In my opinion if you don't see Havana you'll miss out on a lot. A good way to go is to book a cheap resort in Veradero for a week and leave after a couple of nights and get a B&B (Casa Principale) in Old Havana for four nights or so and then spend your last night back at the resort. Things to see in Havana: -The grounds of the Hotel Nationale, especially the bunkers. -The big cemetary. Even if cemetaries aren't your thing it's bloody impressive. -Breakfast daquiris from one of a hundred balconies. -Go see a baseball game. They have a pro team and stadium in Havana. -Ride in one of the old Chevs. Get someone you trust (like at your B& to arrange a taxi ride in one of them. -I believe there's an artist market every week in Havana. Go and buy something. They'll try to take it off the frame so you can bring it on the airplane. Don't let them! I saw people on the plane with big stratched canvasses, and mine cost more than what I paid for it to get it restretched. -Do be careful at night. It's not a dangerous place but not a place to act like a target just be smart and relatively sober (or with someone smart and relatively sober) if you walk around at night. If this paragraph makes you nervous about going there forget I typed it.

I'm very new to the whole idea of listening to stuff on my computer, but since recently replacing my computer and the addition of xmas issue mondo speakers and bass bin, I've started. I've been mainly listening to CBC stuff, the Zappa specials and Age Of Persuasion, and also Phish radio, but I suspect many of you know of good sites to hit for listening pleasure. So, whattya got?

For those who didn't know Dave Tinkoff: Dave was an older man with a debilitating stutter, and he was a well respected bluegrass mandolin player. When he was a kid he got to meet Bill Monroe (I believe it was) and he was so inspired he decided to dedicate his life to playing. I knew him as the janitor at the Folklore Centre, and he was a loveable crotchety man who always called me "h-h-h-h-h-hippie". He died crossing the street to get to the Folklore Centre, he got hit by a car and thrown into another. I always suspected that Arthur created the job for him at the Folklore Centre to help him out, and that proved true, as after Dave died Arthur didn't hire another janitor, the store staff cleans up now. Anyways, a good guy who (to my mind) deserves a tip of the hat if nothing else for living a life of music.

I will happily take anyone's extra pair for any of the following shows: 6.05.09 Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NY 6.06.09 Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA 6.18.09 Post Gazette Pavilion, Burgettstown, PA 6.19.09 Verizon Wireless Music Center, Noblesville, IN 6.20.09 Alpine Valley Music Theater, East Troy, WI 6.21.09 Alpine Valley Music Theater, East Troy, WI Thanks!

Basher, if you end up with extras for 2nd night Jones Beach, you can bark up my tree!

I think I'd be interested in lots of your extras - PA and Alpine for sure. I will email extra details but just wanted to get my say in!

I miss Dave. I'll also be missing this show, unfortunately, due to work.

I for one would be upset if once a month the mayor and council took the day off to play OC Transpo Amazing Race.

phorbesie and I got cheap seats for Albany (presale) and first night Worcester this morning. Now it's on to priceline.

bumperoo

Does anyone have a link to the equivelent seating/pricing chart for the Worcester shows?

Somebody should be compensating these people: Strike sideswipes Ottawa transit station storekeepers CBC News Ottawa's transit strike has dealt an especially harsh blow to the owners of four Transitway station convenience stores, who have been completely cut off from their workplace and customers as their bills continue to mount. "That's our sole source of income, that's our livelihood. Nobody else but us has actually been wiped out," said Joseph Kiros, whose convenience store in Lincoln Fields station has been closed since the start of the strike, which was in its 45th day Friday. Peter Asfaha, who owns the store at Blair station, said his family also relies solely on the income from his in-station business. "We cannot survive this way," said Asfaha, who has a five-year-old son to support. When buses are running, the Transitway convenience stores are busy places that see a steady stream of transit users and employees. They supply bus drivers with coffee, newspapers and snacks and schoolchildren with sandwiches, drinks and breakfast items. About 2,300 transit drivers, dispatchers and maintenance workers walked off the job on Dec. 10. Ever since, the transit stations along the Transitway have been locked, barring access to the stores by even their owners. "Even if we were to open, there wouldn't be anybody really there," said Kiros, who runs the Lincoln Fields store with his uncle. Meanwhile, store bills keep coming in. His mother first opened the store, the first one in any transit station in Ottawa, 10 years ago. She died last year and Kiros said he feels responsible for keeping the family business alive. He said the city has provided no support so far. "We haven't been given any instructions. We just listen to the radio, or we go outside and look if there's any buses, praying for buses every day." The store owners said they aren't taking sides in the conflict but are asking both the city and the transit union to reach an agreement as soon as possible. In the meantime, they are working odd jobs to make ends meet, but don't know how much longer they can survive. When the dispute hits the two-month mark, Kiros said, "I think I'm going to be freaking out… like you don't see any light, you just feel like it's going to keep going and going and nobody cares about us." No talks have been held between the City of Ottawa and the striking Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279 since Dec. 23. On Jan. 8, transit union members voted 75 per cent against the city's latest offer, which was issued just before the most recent talks broke off. Since then, both sides have suggested limited arbitration, but have been unable to agree on the conditions. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2009/01/23/ot-090123-transitway-stores.html

They'll be at The Dakota on Friday night opening for some band. Go, it'll be vaguely awesome.

Hmm...perhaps.

B.C. dad arrested after baby dials 911 from grow-op Last Updated: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 | 2:49 AM PT Comments108Recommend89The Canadian Press A B.C. man probably wishes he had given his 11-month-old son a set of keys to play with instead of a phone, after the infant accidentally dialed 911 and brought police to his dad's marijuana grow-op. Mounties say a 911 call came in from a residence in White Rock, B.C., on Friday morning, but whoever was on the other end of the line hung up. Officers arrived at the residence, and after numerous knocks on the door went unanswered, they entered the home. "The gentleman was quite surprised," said White Rock RCMP Const. Janelle Canning. She said the 29-year-old man, startled by the sudden sight of police, insisted he hadn't made the call. When it was suggested a child might have dialled, the father objected and said his son was far too young. That's when police spotted the baby boy, phone in hand. "We saw him playing with the cordless phone and just pressing all the buttons, so evidently he had called 911," Canning said. With that mystery solved, officers began inspecting the residence and soon discovered a 500-plant marijuana grow-op. The father was arrested and will appear in court in early April on charges of production of a controlled substance and mischief. The boy was removed from the home by the Ministry of Children and Family Development, though he was later released into his mother's custody. The mother does not live in the residence and had no idea what was going on at the home, Canning said. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/01/21/police-call.html

I had no idea CR Avery was on the bill. This is gonna be a no-miss show.

k-os was cool when it was him, classical guitar and tablas.

As voted by Canadians via CBC. Some good picks here: Arcade Fire, Rebellion (Lies). Barenaked Ladies, If I Had $1,000,000. Beau Dommage, La complainte du phoque en Alaska. Ben Heppner, We'll Gather Lilacs. Bruce Cockburn, Wondering Where the Lions Are. Buffy Sainte-Marie, Universal Soldier. Daniel Bélanger, Rêver mieux. Daniel Lanois, Jolie Louise. Daniel Lavoie, J'ai quitté mon île. Diana Krall, Departure Bay. Gilles Vigneault, Mon pays. Glenn Gould, The Goldberg Variations. Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian Railroad Trilogy. Gordon Lightfoot, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Great Big Sea, Ordinary Day. Harmonium, Pour un instant. Ian & Sylvia, Four Strong Winds. James Ehnes, Barber Violin Concerto. Jesse Cook, Mario Takes a Walk. Joni Mitchell, Both Sides Now. Joni Mitchell, A Case of You. Karkwa, Oublie pas. k.d. lang, Hallelujah. Leonard Cohen, Democracy. Leonard Cohen, Suzanne. Malajube, Montréal –40 C. Marie-Jo Thério, Évangeline. Marjan Mozetich, Affairs of the Heart. Measha Brueggergosman, I'm Going Up a Yonder. Mes Aïeux, Dégénérations. Michael Bublé, Home. Moe Koffman, Swingin' Shepherd Blues. Neil Young, Rockin' In the Free World. Neil Young, Helpless. Oscar Peterson Trio, Hymn to Freedom. Oscar Peterson, Place St. Henri (from Canadiana Suite). Parachute Club, Rise Up. Raymond Lévesque, Quand Les Hommes Vivront D'amour. Rush, Closer to the Heart. Sam Roberts, The Canadian Dream. Shad, Brother (Watching). Stan Rogers, Northwest Passage. Stompin' Tom Connors, The Hockey Song. The Arrogant Worms, Canada's Really Big. The Guess Who, American Woman. The Tragically Hip, Wheat Kings. The Tragically Hip, Bobcaygeon. The Rankin Family, Rise Again. The Weakerthans, One Great City!

CBC had Canadians vote for 49 songs for Obama, essentially a mix tape for the new president. Some good picks methinks: Arcade Fire, Rebellion (Lies). Barenaked Ladies, If I Had $1,000,000. Beau Dommage, La complainte du phoque en Alaska. Ben Heppner, We'll Gather Lilacs. Bruce Cockburn, Wondering Where the Lions Are. Buffy Sainte-Marie, Universal Soldier. Daniel Bélanger, Rêver mieux. Daniel Lanois, Jolie Louise. Daniel Lavoie, J'ai quitté mon île. Diana Krall, Departure Bay. Gilles Vigneault, Mon pays. Glenn Gould, The Goldberg Variations. Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian Railroad Trilogy. Gordon Lightfoot, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Great Big Sea, Ordinary Day. Harmonium, Pour un instant. Ian & Sylvia, Four Strong Winds. James Ehnes, Barber Violin Concerto. Jesse Cook, Mario Takes a Walk. Joni Mitchell, Both Sides Now. Joni Mitchell, A Case of You. Karkwa, Oublie pas. k.d. lang, Hallelujah. Leonard Cohen, Democracy. Leonard Cohen, Suzanne. Malajube, Montréal –40 C. Marie-Jo Thério, Évangeline. Marjan Mozetich, Affairs of the Heart. Measha Brueggergosman, I'm Going Up a Yonder. Mes Aïeux, Dégénérations. Michael Bublé, Home. Moe Koffman, Swingin' Shepherd Blues. Neil Young, Rockin' In the Free World. Neil Young, Helpless. Oscar Peterson Trio, Hymn to Freedom. Oscar Peterson, Place St. Henri (from Canadiana Suite). Parachute Club, Rise Up. Raymond Lévesque, Quand Les Hommes Vivront D'amour. Rush, Closer to the Heart. Sam Roberts, The Canadian Dream. Shad, Brother (Watching). Stan Rogers, Northwest Passage. Stompin' Tom Connors, The Hockey Song. The Arrogant Worms, Canada's Really Big. The Guess Who, American Woman. The Tragically Hip, Wheat Kings. The Tragically Hip, Bobcaygeon. The Rankin Family, Rise Again. The Weakerthans, One Great City!

It's been a sick and twisted eight year reign by two of history's biggest douchebags and I'm gonna do a little dance this morning in honour of their political demise.