Recently in Entertainment Category

Crazy Blind Date

By
Big Money Tony
on January 3, 2009 7:52 AM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)
Ever hear of Crazy Blind Date?  I had not until recently.  My friend, The Sports Freak, who I am co-editor with over at The DC Sports Page, read it in the Express.  You know, that thin Washington Post-lite that can be picked up at any Metro station.

After reading the article, he had to tell me about it.  Basically, with the barest of information, you go on a date.  They ask you to stay for only as long as you think it's comfortable, but give it at least 20 minutes if you can.  You provide your statistics, the statistics you want to see in the person you meet, and the time and neighborhood you want to met in.  They even have a "double date" option, so you can go with a friend

We joked about the odd things we might see on a Crazy Blind Date.  Maybe I'll wake up after them in a tub full of ice with a note that both my kidneys are gone.  Or I'll be calling TSF at midnight because she stole my wallet and carjacked me.  But then the joking moved to seriousness.  It became a stupid guy bet, except we didn't put money on it.  At this point, I offered to try it out.
Continue reading Crazy Blind Date.

BMT's Vegas Vacation: Days 2 & 3: Chinatown & Hoover Dam

By
Big Money Tony
on January 3, 2009 7:36 AM | | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (1)
This entry has been on the sidelines for awhile, mainly because I had not gotten around to loading the pictures.  I was only in the Vegas area for 3 days.

Day 2 was not as eventful as Day 1.  I had more relatives arrive this day in the snow.  Yes, there was snow out in Vegas and I witnessed it.  But similar to here in the DC area, people in Vegas don't know how to drive in the stuff, all 1 millimeter of the constantly melting snow.  So traffic jams all along the strip.  After we went through a number of hotels, my uncle suggested we see their Chinatown.  Because when you think of Vegas, you think Chinatown right?
Continue reading BMT's Vegas Vacation: Days 2 & 3: Chinatown & Hoover Dam.

Amazon Kindle

By
Big Money Tony
on December 28, 2008 10:46 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
41mLdDed4ML._SL160_.jpg As a holiday gift to myself, I got the Amazon Kindle .  If you have not heard, the Kindle is an electronic "book".  After just a week of working with it, I'm very satisfied.  In the past, I was an avid reader, staying up until the wee hours of the morning reading magazines or books.  In recent years, that has changed for many reasons.  I have gotten older.  I have not visited the library in quite awhile.  While I can afford to buy books, I find it tough to justify buying many titles.  There are simply many books I want to read, but only once.

The Kindle seems to solve the last problem.  Paperbacks, mostly of the mystery or horror genres, are books I have no need to buy.  The stories may be good, but I don't see why I need to re-read some of them.  For example, The Bone Collector by Jeffrey Deaver.  I read the book years ago and have not picked it up since.  I may read it again some day.  With the Kindle, I can do so without taking up space on a shelf or a box.

Not only books, but the Kindle will also provide content from some magazines and newspapers.  I have not tried a magazine, but for newspapers, I find that the real thing works better than the Kindle.  Or I go to their website.  The Kindle is lightweight.  To me, about the same as a paperback, but the dimensions are bigger.  It takes some getting used to holding it, but after a day or so, I think it worked out.

About the only drawback is that there are no illustrations.  Or rather, there are crude ones but just for the cover of the book.  A limitation of the black and white Kindle, which may be addressed in later versions.  For now, though, any avid reader should consider one.  It may not work for all, but I think it's worth a tryout.  Try to find a friend who has one to see theirs.

BMT's Vegas Vacation: Day 1

By
Big Money Tony
on December 17, 2008 9:16 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
I am on a holiday vacation/mini-family reunion out in Las Vegas.  Not exactly the smartest move for an Asian American family, since many of our kind have degenerate gambling problems, but luckily not my family.  The week is still young..

After weather problems in Charlotte, delaying the first leg of my flight, I ended up arriving on time in Vegas.  At least the delays got me the rare free beverage since we were on the runway for 2 hours.  However, in Vegas, just a couple of quick observations.
  • Despite this being my second stay at the Luxor, I'm still lost as to where to go.
  • Vegas is really dead in December.  Ain't no-one around.
  • Got propositioned while on the casino floor.  Hot African-American woman, but unlike Gov Blagojevich, I don't approve of "Pay to Play".  What's interesting is that she came up to me at the slots.
  • Won $200 on nickel slots, then promptly lost $50 of it on $1 slots, but learned my lesson and pocketed the remainder.  It could have been the hooker too (see above).  No I am not 80 years old.

Leno to Primetime

By
Big Money Tony
on December 10, 2008 4:09 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In what has to be one of the dumbest moves in entertainment history, NBC signs Jay Leno to do a nightly show at 10 PM Eastern, once his Tonight Show run is over.  I've never really understood the ratings that Leno gets.  I am a David Letterman kind of guy.  He is far more talented.  I do understand that Leno has his audience, I'm just not part of it.  But to move him to primetime on a broadcast network?

I would understand if they were putting him on one of the cable arms NBC-Universal owns.  But to eat up the 10 PM hour on NBC seems to be shooting themselves in the foot.  Or should I say leg for Plaxico Burress?  That hour is valuable airtime.  What happens to the various incarnations of Law & Order?  L&O mothership and SVU are currently occupying the 10 PM slot.  For good reason too, as some of their topics are a bit gory or racy for earlier timeslots.

A Leno "Daily Show" at 10PM would work if he was a little more serious.  Many people say Stewart, Colbert, and Letterman are excellent interviewers when it comes to the serious stuff.  I think there is only so much Will Smith and Angelina Jolie we can take.  To watch every weeknight would be horrible.

Review: Chinese Democracy

By
Big Money Tony
on November 25, 2008 6:01 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
The day is finally here. Chinese Democracy, the long awaited album from Guns N' Roses was release yesterday. I was a fan of Appetite for Destruction, but then again who wasn't?  I purchased it yesterday on iTunes hoping for that great sound.  I found Axl's voice.  Unfortunately not much else.  GNR is missing that key sound.  It begs for Slash et al.  The entire album feels of one long ballad.  Individual songs don't seem to stand out.  One exception is the third track, "Better".  It has a good beat and seems to pull some classic Guns N' Roses.  The problem is that is about the only thing that sounds familiar.  It's not that the album is bad.  This would be a great album if it wasn't Guns N' Roses.  It's that we expect more from GNR.  The sound is just not there.  Sample or buy it here. Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy

Review: My Name is Bruce

By
Big Money Tony
on November 16, 2008 2:09 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
On Saturday night, I was coaxed into seeing My Name is Bruce, the latest movie from cult favorite Bruce Campbell.  For those of you how have not heard, Campbell himself is going from city to city to "open" the movie for that specific city.  Part of that is for him to speak before each showing and take questions.  I am not a huge fan of Campbell's, but I decided to have an open mind to see this. Showing at the E Street Cinema downtown, we wanted to catch the 10:15 PM showing. Part of the Landmark Theatre group, we tried all day Sunday to get on their website to buy tickets. The site never came up. We tried calling. Just a long recorded message. So taking a chance, we decided to go downtown.

That was mistake #1. 10:15 was sold out...we were offered 12:15 AM. While they seemed to "customize" the phone recording daily, they didn't bother to note that the 10:15 show was sold out for a week. I didn't want to see the midnight showing, but was again coaxed to buying those tickets.

We headed off the ESPN Zone to kill time. The place was kind of empty, but some good college games were on, so we stuck around to watch. Mistake #2. Apparently on a Saturday night, in the middle of BCS season, the ESPN closes at 11 PM. Without warning, they shut off the TV's at around 11:30. With that we headed back to the theater.

Bruce Campbell showed up at about 12:15 and spoke for 5 minutes. "What are you expectations for this movie?". One fan shouted "Rock Bottom!". Campbell didn't disagree. He was entertaining as you expected and on with the show. I'd like to spoil it for you, but there is nothing to spoil because there was no plot. Anything you see coming happens. I would say rent it on DVD, but that would mean wasting $4 or $5. Well if you are on a subscription plan like Netflix, you might put this at the bottom of your queue. Eventually, you'll drop it from your list in favor of a better movie. Like that new Jean Claude Van Damme movie. OK, I haven't seen it, nor will I ever, but at least you might see him kill someone in a fashion you might believe.

As you may have figured out, I didn't enjoy My Name is Bruce. Maybe hardcore fans like it better. I don't know. The trailer is below and is decent, but remember, trailers are supposed to entice you to see the movie.

Cheerleader Elections

By
Big Money Tony
on November 4, 2008 3:03 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
BuffyTocarraOn this very important day in American History, the DC Sports Page wants to bring you an election that everyone can agree on. BTW - I also blog on The DC Sports Page.  Vote for your favorite Redskins Cheerleader! This first week of voting pits Buffy versus Tocarra. At the end of the season, we will match up the winners to choose the favorite of the year. Vote early. Each Tuesday we'll bring you a new matchup.  Find the poll at The DC Sports Page on the right sidebar.

Gates-Seinfeld Ads Retired

By
Big Money Tony
on September 19, 2008 12:52 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
Well, apparently Microsoft finally saw what virtually everyone else did.  The ads made no sense.  It appears that they have retired those Gates-Seinfeld ads.  Below is the second of the series.

I like how the executive said there was a short shelf life.  2 weeks?  That's really short for two ads.  There is apparently a third.  It had such a short shelf life, it never appeared.


Review: Death Magnetic

By
Big Money Tony
on September 14, 2008 8:45 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
Metallica is back to the band we knew around the ...And Justice for All days.  The guitar sound is back.  I've been a fan since the late 80's when I grew dis-satisfied with the monotonous, repetitive sound of radio.  I plowed through various albums before I bought AJFA on cassette and played it non-stop for months.  For those of you in your 20's or younger, cassettes were rectangular shaped media devices that generally held one album.  The "mix tape" was a popular do it yourself, similar to your mp3 playlist.  Ask you parents or older siblings.  Then ask grandpa about the 8-track.

To Death Magnetic, the title describes the morbid tone of the album.  Very dark, but you are drawn to it.  While I listened to the album about 3 times over the weekend, I have yet to garner all the lyrics, so they could be singing about daisies.  OK, probably dead ones.  Some might say Robert Trujillo was not mixing well with the band.  If it was a problem, it's been solved as I think he's nailed the "true" Metallica sound on bass.

My favorites on the album include "That Was Just Your Life" and "The End of the Line", the first two tracks.  The only disappointment would be "Unforgiven III".  I loved "The Unforgiven" from their self-titled album and think it would have been fabulous cross-promotion for the Clint Eastwood movie Unforgiven that was released around the same time.  But III is dull compared to the rest of the album.

An funny story when I bought it at the national electronics store on Saturday.  I was looking at the display trying to find a copy that was just the album for $9.99.  They were selling a copy for $39.99 that included a "free" download for Guitar Hero III on Xbox.  From behind, I heard a whisper, "Just doooo it".  I looked around and saw a guy in his late 20's.  He picked up a copy of the Xbox version and started walking away again saying "Just do it".  I told him I wanted to, but "Not going to get the $40 version".  He turned around and said "Thanks!  I don't want that one either".  We found our $10 copies a few seconds later.

My rating is "Buy Digitally".  Unless you are a huge Metallica fan, there's no need to get the CD.  Click here to sample or buy on iTunes.
Metallica - Death Magnetic

Seinfeld and Gates...What is with that?

By
Big Money Tony
on September 8, 2008 3:45 PM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)
I was getting ready to watch football yesterday when on the local Fox 5 they ran a commercial that had Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates.  I don't get it.  The commercial seemed to run forever, yet is only clocked at one and a half minutes.

Gates is obviously not good at projecting himself.  He was very bland to the point of boring.  Jerry was well Jerry Seinfeld.  Making jokes out of nothing.  Unfortunately, I didn't find them humorous.  See for yourself.

Mr. Tony Loses Second Job This Year

By
Big Money Tony
on August 12, 2008 1:13 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
No, not me.  Those of you in the DC area and some elsewhere, know that Tony Kornheiser, one-time Washington Post columnist, current PTI "Host" (when he's not on 3 month vacations), and part of the 3 man Monday Night Football booth also held another day job, as a radio host.  At least during football off-season.

Yesterday, 3WT Radio, which was for about a year, Washington Post Radio, was essentially shut down and it's signals will be used to increase geographical coverage of WTOP, the DC area's full-time news radio, and Federal News Radio, a sister station covering the Federal government and the employees of those agencies.

What the shutdown of 3WT Radio means is that TK no longer has an outlet for radio.  His show was probably the highlight of station, save those who really dig Nationals baseball on the radio.  Bonneville, the company that owns the signals for 3WT Radio, announced that that TK would not be returning next Spring, even though I think he still had a year left on his contract.

So after taking early retirement from the Post, Mr. Tony is left with MNF and PTI.  The only real radio game in town that Kornheiser would fit on is ESPN 980.  However as a nationally recognized commentator, he might be able to swing a Sirius-XM radio show.

Review: Soft Parade

By
Big Money Tony
on July 28, 2008 3:11 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)


Soft Parade
 If you have never seen the Doors live, Soft Parade is a show to put on your list.  Now granted, I never saw the Doors in person, and until recently, didn't think much about them.  But over the past couple of years, I've grown to appreciate them.

Soft Parade was not on my list of shows to see.  But it was my friend Mike's birthday, and this is where he wanted to go.  So a bunch of us went.

The show was pretty good.  The instrumentals were excellent, save the constant breakdown of the keyboard.  The player kept taking it off stage to do some fine tuning and they even stopped the show for 10 minutes at around 10:30 just to work on it again.

Where I found fault in the show were two areas.  First of all, they seemed to have played too long.  When "Touch Me" was flowing, I thought that was the perfect time to end the show.  But they played at least four more.  I lost track.

To the other issue, we'll it wasn't much of one, I'll admit.  Joe Russo, the lead vocalist had Jim Morrison nailed down to a tee.  The moaning, slurring, hinted with the feeling of drug-abuse lyrics of the Doors worked well.  Until the crooning of "Touch Me".  With those clear vocals, you heard Morrison's great voice.  Russo seemed to be stretching his to the limit, and missed.  Granted the Doors had the help of a studio.

All in all, if you are interested in seeing the Doors, even though that is impossible, you'll probably enjoy Soft Parade.
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