Tickets to Police 2007 Tour in Vancouver? Dream on! · Saturday February 17, 2007 by colin newell
Ok. So it is no big deal… but come on!
Quite a few of us have been sucked into the 2007 Police reunion tour
hype.
And I was one.
For starters, I heard that by signing up for a free newsletter on BestBuy.CA that I would have access to pre-sale tickets.
Yea. Right. Those tickets were long gone within minutes of this promotion first being offered.
Yet they kept the hype up getting thousands to sign up to their retail shill with virtually zero hope of getting tickets for any Police concert anywhere.
So now I have to take the 3 seconds to sign off of the stupid BestBuy newsletter.
Then there is TicketMaster. How I have learned to loathe TicketMaster. Many acts and performers avoid them too.
My story.
Like a good consumer I showed up at the TicketMaster website with plenty of time to queue up for the 10AM sale of Police 2007 tickets.
Right on the money, I clicked in. I requested any ticket at any price… at 10:00:05 AM today. Within about 1 and one/half minutes of waiting the TicketMaster web site spat back there all tickets were gone.
Ok. Fine. So they sold X number of thousands of tickets in 1.5 minutes.
But did they? Did they really?
No. They did not. Let’s count the number of online ticket sales scams that are under way here.
Yesterday (Friday) I could have taken advantage of a Police Fan Club pre-sale for a paltry 120 dollars… 120 bones just to join the fan club and that is prior to actually getting a ticket.
That and all the other pre-sales, corporate sales, and coupons that (I imagine) the uber-wealthy get. And what’s left for the rest of us?
Nothing? Nope. Not quite.
Within minutes of todays TicketMaster sale being complete, a ticket-auction appeared on the TicketMaster website!
Yup. I could bid upwards of 600$+ on a ticket to see the concert.
But I thought there were no tickets left? What is ticketmaster now? Ebay? Well maybe.
I guess it is free enterprise – but for the love of pete, make it a little bit fair and a little more honest.
Thankfully, I only lost about 5 minutes of my life.
I will certainly listen to The Police in a slightly different way in the future.
this just in… a second show has just been added for Vancouver. Tickets go on sale on Feb 27 at 10AM. Of course they do… sign me up…
Comments? [5]
Something with a nutty, coffee twist · Friday February 16, 2007 by colin newell
Disclaimer If you make these cookies do not take them anywhere outside of your home or kitchen. There are so many people that suffer from peanut allergies that it is just not worth the risk of harming someone.
That said – here is my take on the classic peanut butter cookie with a coffee twist. They are very good and the minute amount of instant coffee powder gives them a pleasant twist on the classic flavor.
In one big bowl add:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter (any style) – I like smooth and organic
Cream the butter and peanut butter with electric blender. Make sure that the butter is VERY soft and at room temperature before you proceed.
Add 1/2 cup of demerera sugar – continue to blend
Add 1/2 cup of granulated sugar – continue to blend
Add one egg, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder (sub. instant coffee if necessary) – continue to blend
Gradually add 1 and 1/4 cups white flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
Mix by hand when cheap blender is about to explode.
Form into 1.5 tablespoon sized balls and place on parchment paper on ungreased pan.
Bake in 375 degree oven for about 10 – 12 minutes or until lightly brown at base of cookie.
Cool for 5-10 minutes then eat with black coffee.
Let's do lunch... · Thursday February 15, 2007 by colin newell
One of my favorite places for a meal on Vancouver Island is the Crow & Gate Pub at Cedar south of Nanaimo.
I know. I know. This is one of the best kept secrets of many Islanders (and mainlanders for that matter…) and I know full well I am going to be paying dearly for letting this cat out of the bag!
Ok. So it is a pub you say. So what?
Well (more secrets about to be let out of the bag…)
The Crow & Gate is the most authentic English pub you will find in North America (I know – hyperbole)
It is as if it was transported lock, stock and barrel from England.
Except for a couple of small details.
The food is way better than the average English pub…
and way cheaper too!
I dare say I have had virtually everything on the menu; Steak Pie, Oyster Pub plate (My god! Yum!), Ploughmans Lunch… and on and on and on.
All menu items (made at the time you request them) are under 10 dollars (average price being about $7.50 Canadian)
Did I mention the food is really, really, really good?
Secrets out.
Oh yea. Why the Heli photo above?
Well. Short story. A small group of us were at the C&G a year or so ago when we heard the familiar Whop-Whop of a Bell Jet Ranger coming in for a landing… a landing in the middle of nowhere.
Picture this: Chopper cools down. Pilot jumps out and sprints to the pub back entrance. Pilot whispers a question in a waitresses ear. She nods no. Pilot returns to helicopter. Helicopter powers up and flys away.
I could not resist. I went over and asked the gal what the pilot wanted.
“Steak and Kidney Pie” she said.
“We were out…” she concluded.
It seems they get regular high-rollers from Vancouver flying in for a quick lunch.
Geeze – at 500 to 1000$/hour for a Bell Jet Ranger and pilot you would think they would call ahead.
Feeling down, feeling pretty? · Monday February 12, 2007 by colin newell
Fashion models feel less happy and less fulfilled than people in other careers, researchers in London said.
Other characteristics models tend to exhibit include low self-esteem, loneliness and suspicions of others, Sky News said Monday.
The findings, released as London Fashion Week begins, were the results of interviews by City University researchers with a group of models and other workers.
In the study, models on average scored lower on several questionnaires, particularly when asked about their psychological need satisfaction. PNS measures a person’s need to feel connected with others, their ability to feel comfortable making independent decisions and their need to feel competent in daily work.
Bjorn Meyer, the researcher who led the study, told Sky News, “These results do not mean that models are mentally disturbed but they are nevertheless concerning, and point to a potentially serious issue.” link
I don’t know – I think this scenario would describe most bloggers, would’nt you agree?
I feel pretty, oh so pretty...
