07/02/2005 Entry: "Live 8 / 4th Survey / Atlantic City."

Re: Live 8. Well, that was pretty fucking amazing.

EDIT: I spent the last few days in Atlantic City, and it looks like we're gonna get an article out of it. "But Matt, you've already done thirteen thousand articles about Atlantic City!" True, but this one's way different, you'll see. I once again lost my shirt; actually, I lost many, many shirts between Thursday and Friday night. Fortunately, had two quick victories literally just before heading home -- first a 700-quarter win on two criss-crossed sets of 7s, then an instant 150 bucks on a fifty-cent machine. Still didn't come out anywhere near ahead -- very far from it -- but at least I left on a high note. We stayed at The Borgata, allegedly the nicest place in town if not just the newest. And wherever they fail, they make up for it with these dudes and dudettes...

They're like evolved mimes -- you're walking around the lobby, and there's all of these giant white statues. Only they're not statues. They're alive. And if you walk close enough, they try to grab you. I may have lost many shirts, but at least an alien statue lady winked at me.

Blah. I'm working on two 4th of July-themed updates to X-E's two new stupid sections -- those'll be up tomorrow. And before the holiday weekend ends, I'll get that new "real" article put together. This being one of the lowest web trafficked weekends of the year, I want to say "HAPPY HOLIDAYSSSS" to the remaining Americans reading this in between bouts of barbecue and firecrackers. Actually, that'd make fer a good survey thingy...my apologies to the readers overseas...

Survey: Give us the scoop on your holiday festivities -- particularly if they involve any cool looking explosives.

Chestnuts roasted by Mike @ 07/02/2005 09:24 PM EST

All I got was crap when I turned it on Madonna, Linkin Park and Green Day causing Freddy Mercury to roll over in his grave.

Chestnuts roasted by Paul @ 07/02/2005 09:27 PM EST

U2 has always been my favorite, so of course I watched it for them, but seeing Pink Floyd play for the first time in my life (not pre-recorded) was amazing, they looked giddy. And old. And it was weird without watching Wizard of Oz at the same time. . .

Chestnuts roasted by kb @ 07/02/2005 10:02 PM EST

Dammit, I missed whatever it is everyones talking about.

Paul > What happened to cause such a thing? Judging by the musicians listed I can only fear the worst.

Chestnuts roasted by James @ 07/02/2005 10:05 PM EST

http://music.aol.com/

If you really don't know, go there and watch it

Chestnuts roasted by kb @ 07/02/2005 10:09 PM EST

HEY!!

I chanted along like a drunken idiot when I saw Green Day a couple of months ago. They do an amazing job of the song. Well they do everything amazing, so why am I surprised???

Chestnuts roasted by Knegative @ 07/02/2005 10:15 PM EST

I really wish I had gotten to see Our Lady Peace, I assume they were there based on their website, well lack thereof. But hey, finally the new album is coming out. Woohoo!!

P.S. Mr. Mercury would be proud.

Chestnuts roasted by Knegative @ 07/02/2005 10:22 PM EST

Confirmed, OLP played in Toronto. Well that wasn't too much of a stretch, eh?

THE CURE PLAYED AT VERSAILLES. Oh, why did I miss that, why????

Chestnuts roasted by Knegative @ 07/02/2005 10:36 PM EST

I was just glad to see Pink Floyd and the Who back to back again.

But MTV/VH1 should be ashamed of themselves. Their coverage was pitiful. BBC showed the concert without commercials, and without shitty comments like "wow, that's amazing" every five minutes (including DURING songs).

I never thought I would say it...but AOL is the clear winner with this one.

Chestnuts roasted by Cameron T. @ 07/02/2005 10:38 PM EST

Covered We Are the Champions, I wish they would have went with a Wang Chung tribute instead.

Chestnuts roasted by Paul @ 07/02/2005 10:40 PM EST

To those of you who hated it...life is more than rap with sexual lyrics..music once had meaning....and Live 8 showed the artists before it all went to shit the show was awesome

Chestnuts roasted by Jeff @ 07/02/2005 10:41 PM EST

Wang Chung?? Riiiiight.

But I totally understand where you're coming from, so no need to quibble.

311 covering Lovesong. Words cannot describe the horror.

Chestnuts roasted by Knegative @ 07/02/2005 10:48 PM EST

Oh no problem with the covering it, like at their own concert, but it came off as pretty cheesy since Billy Joe is 1/1000th the frontman that Mercury was. Although I guess it could have been worse if say Simple Plan was doing it.

Chestnuts roasted by Paul @ 07/02/2005 10:50 PM EST

This is true. Wasn't someone else screaming along? I didn't catch who it was, but if I wasn't hallucinating that guy, he made it a 100 times worse.

Chestnuts roasted by Knegative @ 07/02/2005 10:59 PM EST

Reading this blog has made me think of a hilarious TV-movie title. I can see it now...

"Based on a true story...

Raped By A Statue: Matt's Story"

I know you weren't raped, but honestly, how far is clothes-ripping from rape? Certainly no more of a leap than most of those "based on true events" movies.

I'll be your agent. Rights bidding starts at $1 million.

Chestnuts roasted by DarkPrimus @ 07/03/2005 12:37 AM EST

Nope, no firecrackers...damn overpriced shit!!!! Such a boring 1st of July (for me)

Live 8, I really didn't find to many good bands in the list while I was in Barrie. Maybe Deep Purple, but what, all I know from them is Smoke on the Water. All the other bands didn't seem to great to me.

On a side note...although there is probably gonna be a great turnout for the Canadian Live 8, it didn't seem like to many people wanted tickets? It's just my theory that it's the bands, but thats just my personal feelings towards some of the bands

Chestnuts roasted by The Cause @ 07/03/2005 12:48 AM EST

I missed the Live 8 show, because I had to work all day today. As for my 4th of July celebrations, there won't be any. I am working on the holiday, when most other businesses are closed, from 2 PM until 10 PM. I work at a deli in PA, so between those hours, I get to deal with intoxicated tourists and their bratty, disrespectful tourist-in-training monsters (children). It's not a complete loss, because I get to eat and drink whatever I want, with the exception of beer. My store carries beer, which is very cool since I don't have to drive out to 940 just to grab a six pack AND my boss gives me a discount on my alcohol purchases.

Chestnuts roasted by Kathodos @ 07/03/2005 12:50 AM EST

I get to work monday (coffee shop, since it's addictive, we'll be open) none of my empoyees volenteered when I asked. Stupid, I just shoulda made em work.
The fireworks that are legal here are silly, so I'll probably find a big show to watch. I much prefer setting them off myself.

Chestnuts roasted by kb @ 07/03/2005 12:57 AM EST

lets see.. between the three of Us, me and my friend spent almost over 274$ on fireworks, and we also have Fluffy, ...Fluffy is a foot tall Battery we got for about 50$ from a retail, It lasts about 35 seconds but its supposed to be a really good show, ^^ on the other hands we also got about 6-7 box's of mortars.. buncha rockets missles, and about 50 feet worth of fuse line, in case we dont want to get too close when we light fluffy ^-^; after our fluffy shoots off were gonna keep it and just store fireworks in it, like its a little holy container of goodness

Chestnuts roasted by Dashi @ 07/03/2005 01:00 AM EST

Uh, so far we've spent 1 hour swimming in our pool and 2 locked out of the house waiting for the locksmith.... And tomorrow I get to work and do chores. Not really all that exciting I suppose. I did watch Nausicaa finally and that kicked ass.

Chestnuts roasted by Anne Packrat @ 07/03/2005 01:18 AM EST

Holy Shit It's back! This year's Shark Week, hosted by Jamie "Buster" Hyneman and Adam "The Sandman" Savage, kicks off on Sunday, July 17 You Fucks. Hope your ready to get your BALLS PUNCHED OFF cause this shit is XTREME!

Chestnuts roasted by Sharky "The Saltwater" Shark @ 07/03/2005 01:38 AM EST

All I got was crap when I turned it on Madonna, Linkin Park and Green Day causing Freddy Mercury to roll over in his grave.

Actually, Madonna was at the original Live Aid.

My stepdad made an interesting remark: "Hey, these guys are so rich, why don't THEY contribute a little to ending poverty?" Gee, I wonder....

Chestnuts roasted by Mars @ 07/03/2005 02:06 AM EST

Ok, those people/statues would just freak me out. Probably moreso than mimes, but not as much as, say, clowns. I wouldn't have gotten close enough to them that they could've even touched me, let alone rip off my shirt.

What'd they DO with your shirts?? I bet they all brag about how many they got each day, and keep a collection.

No plans for the 4th. I gotta work. I did see like, 3 big fireworks as I pulled in the driveway tonight, though. They were scarily close and I have no clue where they came from. I wonder if the wind knocked them off course... I could smell them burning.

Chestnuts roasted by Ryane @ 07/03/2005 02:20 AM EST

I think I'll be blowing up action figures and painting my room in mustard to celebrate the holiday weekend.

Chestnuts roasted by Review the World @ 07/03/2005 02:32 AM EST

Hi everybody!

Live 8 was pretty cool to watch on AOL, but I honestly don't think it will make much a difference. It would be better for all of the stars to give a million Kid Cuisines down there and a microwave to each. For those that are rail thin, a couple of Hungry Man XXL dinners should do the trick. Now that would solve hunger! (I'm only kidding folks)

Sigh, another America Birthday stuck overseas (thanks for the pitence Matt). Even when I got lucky and was in Hawaii during my tour in the Marines, the fireworks blew goats.

I could be home right now watching my cousin make sparkler bombs. I'm surprised my cousin hasn't blown his arm off with one of those yet.

Maybe my son will decide to come, that would be a cool "firework" and then he could star in a Born on the 4th of July remake not starring that pompous wiseass Tom Cruise.

Semper Fi,
Erik Majorwitz

Chestnuts roasted by EMajorwitz @ 07/03/2005 03:08 AM EST

If one of those statue people reached out to grab me, I might have to defend myself.

Because they're clearly evil. Just look at them. No good can come from something that looks like that.

None.

Chestnuts roasted by The Monkey King @ 07/03/2005 03:18 AM EST

You guys know 'Losing the Shirt Off Your Back' is an expression, right?

I'm going to eat some beef (I know I shouldn't; Morningstar Farms rule!) and enjoy my Cure Trilogy DVD, since one of my friends took Stateside with her on vacation.

If I had a portable DVD player, I'd get nothing done. And I don't get anything done as it is.

Oh and I'm gonna read the new adventure article. I can't wait, Matt

Chestnuts roasted by Knegative @ 07/03/2005 03:26 AM EST

Well, I don't have any big 4th plans (although I may end up b-b-q-ing with some friends across the street), but this "independence day" is particullarly poignant for me since I've been searching for a job all summer after graduating from college in May, and I start my first "real" full-time job on Tuesday. Scary. My last day of freedom from the real world.

Chestnuts roasted by Gozer @ 07/03/2005 10:02 AM EST

Hmmm...well, July 1st was Canada Day for me, but I am in Korea working with a bunch of Europeans, so there was absolutely no celebration....although I did wind up at a bar until 5AM, but that was just a coincidence.

Missed all the Live 8 stuff too! No coverage here! None. Awful.

Chestnuts roasted by Muppet Baby @ 07/03/2005 10:26 AM EST

I can't believe this. They cancelled the fireworks in my town. The excuse they're using is that some little bird hatched somewhere near the beach, but those damn birds have been there for years and it's never stopped them in the past! Honestly, who's ever heard of the fourth of July without explosives? It's just not done!

Okay. Rant over. Yeah, those statue things would've wigged me out, but I'm sure they're great for atmosphere...

Chestnuts roasted by Pirate7L @ 07/03/2005 10:33 AM EST

The 4th is my birthday, so my friends are coming over and we are going to watch all 6 star wars movies back to back.

Chestnuts roasted by BrightNoah @ 07/03/2005 10:38 AM EST

Aggh, you have Episode III?

Aggghhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

Semper Fi,
Erik Majorwitz

Chestnuts roasted by EMajorwitz @ 07/03/2005 10:41 AM EST

I spent all day today at the Seoul horse track, betting on horse races...I thought of Matt once or twice.
And now we're getting another Atlantic City article. Oh yeah. (I wound up $13 up)

Chestnuts roasted by Muppet Baby @ 07/03/2005 11:33 AM EST

White statue/mime people who try to grab you add to the reasons why you should be allowed to carry high-density whiffle bats to subdue such offenders...

or even just regular bats.

Chestnuts roasted by AlphaCentaurian @ 07/03/2005 12:04 PM EST

I'm gettin' ready to go to AC now...not staying over, riding down for the day. We're gonna try out those beach bars near Caesars everyone is talking about, then try the new part to the Tropicana. We stayed at the Borgata New Year's Eve this year, but I wasn't that impressed. The casino itself is very nice, but the rooms were standard AC hotel rooms. I was surprised. I was expecting a fountain in the bathroom or something.

Chestnuts roasted by Y2JB78 @ 07/03/2005 12:49 PM EST

Y2J: I wasn't thrilled with it either on this trip. What originally struck me about the Borg was its attention on keeping visitors happy. When I first went there and got my card and all that, I was treated to ridiculously great comps, drinks at the slots as fast and in as large quantities as I could handle, and just had a general sense of being taken care of. This time, we had problems with everything from getting a room that I'd booked months ago to security hassling us and beyond. You know how they take your license at check-in? Well, they had my license, my card, plus a friend's card and license. After finishing up (with a bunch of bullshit) and being handed our cards, we go to play for a bit. I hear my name over the speaker -- I'd "left" my card at the check-in center. "Left" being an informal term: I should've checked, but if I didn't have it, it was because the girl forgot to give it back to me. So we walk back, and for twenty minutes the girl pretends that she can't remember me from fifteen minutes ago, much less had any idea about a license -- even though security later confirmed that she'd handed it to them.

Minor gripes, I know, but there were many annoyances like this. And for better or for worse, I play quite a bit. I wasn't jitneying around the city just checking out the various scenes -- this was supposed to be "my" place. The one I get all the offers from and commit to losing money to so I can keep getting those offers. Mouth, meet bad taste.

And yes, the rooms aren't special. No better than any of the bigger places there at all. Maybe a bit cleaner, but nobody gives a shit about being clean in Atlantic City. It's an uphill battle.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 07/03/2005 12:59 PM EST

Yeah, we had a hard time checking in too. We were the only ones in line, and somehow it still took 20 minutes. We asked the girl if there was anything in the city special going on at midnight (since it was New Year's Eve). She just looked at us like we were nuts.

We usually stay at the Showboat ($100 vs. the $500 we paid to stay at Borgata), and the Showboat actually had much nicer rooms than the Borgata. Plus, you're kind of stuck there since it's in the marina. But we still had a good time.

I love how the Borgata symbol looks exactly like the symbol for Boscov's. It takes something away from the whole experience.

Chestnuts roasted by Y2JB78 @ 07/03/2005 01:32 PM EST

Before I go post on the next thingawhopper....
This evening, me and Ma are going to give my nephew a early birthday party. The 4ourth is his birthday and we want to do something today so he can have fun turning 10 tomorrow by setting things on fire. FTHOOM-BANG!

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 07/03/2005 02:21 PM EST

I've seen those "statues" in some parks, but they are very bad compared with this one!!

Chestnuts roasted by yelinna @ 07/03/2005 02:26 PM EST

Erik I can send you a copy if you want. Just email the address to send it to uptegroved1@mail.montclair.edu

Chestnuts roasted by BrightNoah @ 07/03/2005 04:17 PM EST

The statue people are sort of an "art" form from Europe (especially France). Probably orginated from gypsies trying to find another way to pick your pocket. (BTW, that's not a racial slur towards gypsies. I've been around Europe, and I've had many a gypsy try and make off with my loot.)

Erik is right, the 4th in Germany is pretty sucky. Although I did see an ad at a grocery store for "American" things. Maybe I'll pick up some marshmellows. Hopefully I'll be able to see the Army base's fireworks.

Chestnuts roasted by Mad Cow @ 07/03/2005 06:25 PM EST

Twilight
Zone
Marathon

Chestnuts roasted by springsprite @ 07/04/2005 12:44 AM EST

Oh God, it's on? I thought I found it yesterday, but it was just an hour block. Yes! The holiday is saved.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 07/04/2005 12:45 AM EST

I have to work. Lame!

Chestnuts roasted by marioshoku @ 07/04/2005 01:17 AM EST

Happy Independence Day to all Americans! And I still think Independence Day is one of the best summer "event" film thrill rides of the 1990s; yes, it does get rather silly at times, but it's as much as straight-faced spoof of invasion movies as it is a sci-fi film, and the much-derided ending is just a modern twist on War of the Worlds.

For you Canadians here, you can see a bunch of photos of the fireworks on Parliament Hill which I put in an online album of Canada Day photos from Ottawa, except the fireworks photos are all trippy and blurry since I kept on getting jostled by the crowd and didn't have a tripod, and, if you're really masochistic and want to be very bored, you can read about my first Canada Day experience in Ottawa since 1988, except it's a rather "complete" account of every boring thing I did.

Chestnuts roasted by Steve Brandon @ 07/04/2005 04:03 AM EST

Not doing much today but Saturday went out to Long Beach here on Long Island and saw a free concert with 60s singer Jay Black and the Americans and saw a fireworks show which was AWESOME. Darn things looked like they were coming at you like an alien attack. Lots of fun, nice weather...other than that, sitting here watching the Mets game...

Chestnuts roasted by Melissa Y @ 07/04/2005 02:45 PM EST

CBS-3 sent the whole crew of reporters to Live 8. The oldest reporter covering the events was Walt Hunter, who covered Live Aid twenty years ago. You rock, Walt!!!!

The best was the two sets of double boxes (code: 2box) that showed the 4 reporters we sent. I bet the code was 4box for the four boxes on the screen. I'm a prodcution intern there--I'm cheesy and into weird things. Like codes.

I went to A.C. on Saturday (after saying that I wouldn't come within two inches of Philly on Saturday).

No dice on the fireworks. I dont have any cool pictures or actual fireworks. My neighbor was setting some off last night, which means I'll have a cool (and illegal) fireworks show tonite!!!! Woo-hoo, there is a god!

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 07/04/2005 06:13 PM EST

Those statues are FREAKY!!!! the damn things scare the kiddies!!! how much you wanna bet that the foreign kids they bring over to work for the summer are these statues????? No offense of course, to anyone who is not from the United States....

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 07/04/2005 06:23 PM EST

My family lives near a small lake, and every 4th of July we buy at least $200 worth of fireworks and shoot them off over the lake. I don't know quite how to describe the experience, but it's an unforgettable experience.

As for the statues, I think those are some of the coolest things I have ever seen! I need to go to AC now and stay at that hotel. (I guess being raised by a party clown skewed my idea of cool a bit, hehe.)

Chestnuts roasted by Rose Arcana @ 07/04/2005 07:58 PM EST

What did I do for the 4th of July? I worked, I was working...and did I mention I worked? Independance Day ain't no holiday when you live and work in a summer resort. I spent the day handling people in a grocery store, then went and rested for the fireworks...which turned out to be obscured by hazy fog that had suddenly popped up during the evening and not all that great when they were visible, anyway. I did continue my 4th of July winning streak by picking up a little panda bear after getting two out of three balloons in a dart game. I was pretty proud of myself - the last time I played a dart game, I couldn't even hit one.

Chestnuts roasted by starwenn @ 07/11/2005 09:52 PM EST