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Wednesday, March 11, 2009

CRAPCast 17: Smoking with Kamala

This week, our Hip Hop CRAP Stars explore the Silent Ninja actually learning to be deadlier, receive a call from "The Dude," and finally hear from Big Daddy shit from the road of his "Magic Tour" around the world, and reflect on Alan Cox and how radio sucks now.

You can join us every Tuesday LIVE at 7 PM EST on TalkShoe.com and BlogTV.com. Find more about Hip Hop Crap Stars atwww.monkeyflingspoo.com and stay tuned to our weekly stream and subscribe on TalkShoe!

Cable TV is Broken

Lately, I've read a lot about Cable TV, and it's endeavors to reach it's programming (and fees?) to the internet. Also, I've been attempting to find ways to lessen my bills (thanks, economy) but not cut what I really watch. I know we watch only a handful of channels in my household. I've deleted some of the higher price level ones (such as G4 and FX) in favor of their online options to watch.

As I continue to analyze, I find that the majority of my television watching has been on the "free" local networks (that I pay 5.99 for), USA (for the obvious WWE, Burn Notice, and Psych), and a mattering of shows on Cartoon Network, Sci-Fi (again, because of the wrestling). Most of these shows are available online (ECW, Burn Notice, Psych, Heroes, etc.) The only gaffe is WWE RAW, that is shown live only (with clips online later). Honestly, if I cancelled my cable, bought a Tivo, a digital antennae, and hooked up a Mac Mini or PlayOn for my Xbox 360, I would only miss out on that WWE RAW, in the long run. Anything else that wasn't online, well meh, I can wait for it on Netflix (which also provides hours of enjoyment via Xbox streaming.)

One of the biggest pains is realizing just what you are paying for. Typically, a portion of your monthly bill goes to each of the stations on your provider. Think about it. I'm paying, according to my Dish Network Bronze plan, for Country Music Television and Horseracing TV. Really? Trip that fat for the stations you watch. Then down to the stations that you probably wouldn't miss.

One problem is if we have this option to slim down what we watch on television, the lesser networks that would be left in the dust for being a smaller niche, like Horseracing TV, wouldn't be able to proceed to make money. Keep in mind that we are also subjected to commercials on these stations we pay for.

It just intrigues me that the television industry has been built on this symbiotic relationship that tends to force content to your television you probably wouldn't even want to pay for.

Do you think you're paying for what you're using?

Wrestling Mayhem Show 158: Mad Mike Mayhem

The Mayhem Crew gets the Bronx in studio again, as Mad Mike visits us again hot off of the crazy IWC show this past Saturday, the big indy story coming out of Butler, PA, and discuss home break ins, why TNA is dead to DJlunchbox (again), and more!

This is Episode 158 for Tuesday, March 10, 2009. You can get the

episode here on Talkshoe, subscribe, and as always, stay tuned to www.wrestlingmayhemshow.com for the latest! The Wrestling Mayhem Show is recorded live and can be heard/viewed from 8 PM to 10 PM Eastern on Talkshoe.com and BlogTV.com. Let us know what you think of the show, and your thoughts on the wrestling world by emailing us at goodtimes@wrestlingmayhemshow.com! Don't forget you can find links related to the show's news stories and more at our Delicious Links Page for Episode 158 !

Blake
"Leave Us Alone" (mp3)
from "The Outlaw EP"
(Scion Records)

Buy at Napster

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Stream from Rhapsody

Buy at Puretracks

Buy at mTraks

More On This Album

Dr. Steel
"Back and Forth" (mp3)
from "People of Earth"
(reapandsow, Inc.)

Buy at iTunes Music Store

Buy at eMusic

Buy at Napster

Buy at Rhapsody

Stream from Rhapsody

Buy at Puretracks

Buy at Amazon MP3

Buy at GroupieTunes / appliedSB

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More On This Album

Substantial
"Day in the Life (feat. Steph)" (mp3)
from "My Favorite Things"
(QN5, Inc.)

Buy at iTunes Music Store

More On This Album

Thursday, March 5, 2009

If it didn't work the first three times...

Over the years, I've found myself invovled with a series of, what you could call, business ventures. I suppose not business ventures in the typical sense. I'm talking about rallying some people to work on fan sites, some video projects, and a few other small projects that were started "just for fun" but had the goal to become much more serious.

It seems that, more often than not, they go south for one reason or another. Maybe it's the businesses I've drawn myself to. (Music and Wrestling force you to be very cautious of who you deal with)

But over the years, after butting my head against the wall several times, there are things I've learned:

Contracts, Contracts, Contracts. Even if it's your best friend, if you claim you want to be partners in a venture, get it on paper.
Stop doing crap for free. Ever since I did my first website for a friend's band, I should have made sure I was getting something in return. On one hand, I thought it was cool to be "with the band", and I was getting a chance to use my prospective talent (being this was pre-college).
Is there a history? You often spark a really cool idea with your close buds. Then you go for it, and maybe they're not there anymore. Take a hard, objective look. Is your aquaintance on time when you do anything social? Are they the first you call when you need a serious hand? How is that going to apply when you really need them to do something for real. You can't go anywhere with an anchor tied to your leg.
Document everything. Many times, things can end in a "he said, she said" situation. Often clouded by anxiety over the business plan working, not working, or simply moving slowly.
Do you really have the time/energy for this? I've been one to have my hands in "too many cookie jars" over the last few years. And that's taken it's toll. I've taken to find myself running headlong in a couple of potential ventures at the same time, while still attempting to sustain all of my old pet projects at the same time.
Know when to cut the cord. Are you getting anything from this? Is there still any potential if you stay the course? Is there something else that seems more viable this might be in the way of? I've wanted to cut the cord on one site for a while due to the waning of community participation, but it's afforded me several opurtunities to work with artists. While one of my newer ventures still hasn't gotten "where I wanted it" for the three years I've been into it, but I can't beat the connections.

So, I'm sitting on the edge of some changes to my life, and taking control of a bit more than I have in the last few years. I'm still trying to figure a lot out, so here we are, reviewing the history so we don't repeat ourselves, because the patterns are showing themselves.

What do you think?

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Wrestling Mayhem Show 157: Tea and Tacos

The Mayhem Crew gets stood up by Jimmy Demarco (or Joe Dombrowski's lawyers?), but we still have Joe call in to let us know what we should be watching in indy wrestling. We also experiment a little with the format, get some interesting feedback from a new face, make fun of our fans, have fans make fun of us, analyze Randy Orton as the uber heel he is, and much, much more!

This is Episode 157 for Tuesday, March 3, 2009. You can get the