My 200th Weblog Entry Extravaganza.

Published on April 23, 2004 By Jamie Burnside In Blogging

Here it is: article number 200.

Thanks to those of you who have been faithful readers of my weblog. I enjoy seeing that people read what I write, and that they occasionally place comments.

For this entry, I am reprinting my top-five articles as of April 21st, 2004.

The first article about the last episode of "Friends" has been referred many times. I seem to have written a pretty topical article.

The second article was about the purchase of a new picture phone. It has certainly made posting pictures on this weblog a lot easier!

The third article was a rant about my favorite TV show being pre-empted by high school hockey. That may have been my most controversial article.

The fourth and fifth articles are about "American Idol," and William Hung. I usually have lots to say about that show.

Once again, thanks for reading what I have to say.

Jamie

The number 1 article
The last episode of "Friends."

By Jamie Burnside
Posted Thursday, January 15, 2004 on jamieburnside
Discussion: Movies & TV
Hello there. I hope that everyone has been having a happy week. I can't believe that Friday is almost here!

Today as I was driving to work, I heard on the radio that the last episode of "Friends" will be in May. That was the first time in a long time that I have heard about that show. To be honest with you, I thought that the last episode was last year.

(Not that I've checked, but there's probably been lots of "jumped the shark" internet chatter about "Friends," hasn't there?)

I haven't heard people I know talking about that show like I used to. I kind of grew tired of it as soon as I entered my mid-twenties. But apparently there have been enough viewers over the years to justify some good ratings, high salaries, and expensive ad time. Maybe I am just gettin' old.

Is Rachel going to marry Ross in the end?

The number 2 article:
I got me a fancy picture-phone.

By Jamie Burnside
Posted Friday, March 12, 2004 on jamieburnside
Discussion: Misc
Hi there friends! It is finally Friday. I am looking forward to a weekend surrounded by family and friends.

Last night my wife and I took the baby along for dinner at Bonanza in Saint Cloud. Success! We had a good meal, and the service was good (as usual.) We both had steak and all-you-can-eat shrimp. The last time we went there (in December,) our meals didn't turn out so-well. I was a bit apprehensive before going back, but fortunately we were able to put the past behind us and were treated to a nice dinner.

During dinner, my wife and I discussed (finally) upgrading our cellular phones and getting telephone numbers in our current area-code. Kazuko had really been wanting a phone with a camera on it. I must admit that I really wanted one too. (If anyone wants to see my butt, just ask.

) Note to my personal friends: I have changed my cell-phone number.

After looking at Circuit City, and calling our company to see how much an upgrade will cost, we decided to head over to Sam's Club. Luckily for us they had the phone that we wanted. We were also able to get a rebate for the full price of the two phones we got. Since we were already T-Mobile subscribers, we put the new account in my wife's name so we could take advantage of the new-account incentives. What a deal! Now we have more service for less-cost. I like when things work out like that.

Now I have the pleasure of "learning the ropes" on my new cell-phone. As usual when one buys a new phone, there is a bit of a learning-curve. I seemed to have figured out a number of things already. (It was a bit too late in the day however that I figured out how to turn off the ringer. My students kept asking, "What's that noise?")

The coolest thing is that I can take pictures with the phone and e-mail them to myself. That means it will be a lot easier for me to get pictures onto my weblog here. Before having the phone I had to: take a video, do a screen capture, then edit and compress each picture before I could download it on my photo host. With the camera phone, the process will be a lot more streamlined.

Here is the first picture that I took with my phone last night:

The Number 3 article:
MN High School Hockey is pre-empting my favorite show.

By Jamie Burnside
Posted Wednesday, March 10, 2004 on jamieburnside
Discussion: Entertainment
I like to watch American Idol. I write about each episode on my weblog.

Tonight's show (the wild card round results show) is being pre-empted in the Twin Cities market because of the Boys' High School Hockey Tournament.

How many players are there on a hockey team? 20? Assuming that each of these 20 players have two parents, two teams worth of players amount to 80 people who actually care about the game. I would bet that the majority of those parents will be watching the game live.

The most popular show in America has been bumped by a show on which the only people interested will not even be at home to watch television. What a bunch of crap! American Idol at 12:30 AM? Just replay a half-hour of hockey at 12:30 AM.

********************************************************************
This reminds me: The local radio station that carries Twins baseball in this market is also "the weather leader." They'll cut into the games if someone sees a dark cloud over North Dakota. It drives me nuts! (This is a GIANT station. They own lots of stations in the market. They don't even show the courtesy of putting baseball on another station while they pander to the geriatric-set. -they're the only ones who care about the weather report anyway.)

Here comes the 3-2 pitch. Bases loaded. If Mientkiewicz can get a hit here, the Twins will score at least two and the game will be tied. We may go into extra innings ****This just in from WCCO weather. We have just had a report of drizzle in the International Falls area. We have not as-of -yet received confirmation on this; but we will continue with wall-to-wall coverage of this weather until well after the game is over. Thanks for listening!

The number 4 article:

American Idol 3 wild card round results show.
Preliminary unofficial betting line.

By Jamie Burnside
Posted Wednesday, March 10, 2004 on jamieburnside
Discussion: Entertainment
If you had read my last blog entry, you know that I wasn't able to see the show. American Idol has been bumped back to midnight in the Twin Cities because of the (inconsequential) High School Hockey Tournament. So if you want to read some good "griping," scroll down friends.

Even though I haven't watched the show, I will still attempt a rudimentary review of the results. According to internet sources: Jon Peter Lewis was the fans' choice. Leah Labelle, George Huff, and Jennifer Husdon were chosen by the judges.

I was a little surprised by the outcome. My favorite contestant, Suzy Vulaca, didn't make it. That's a shame! I would choose her instead of any of the others who are making it through to the next round. I hope that it doesn't "bring me down" for the rest of the series.

Next week begins the "final-twelve" round. I am officially rooting for Amy Adams, and Diana DeGarmo (did I spell her name right?) I think that I will be rooting against Matthew "Rosebowl" Rogers until he a) quits antagonizing Simon, and

cools it with the Rosebowl talk.

Maybe before the show next week I will draw up an "official" unofficial betting line. And put it in my blog.

In the meantime, here is a sneak peek. Let me know if these are way-off. I'll adjust them accordingly:

Preliminary unofficial American Idol 3 Line:
for information and amusement purposes only

Fantasia 3:1 (super-talented)

Amy 6:1 (super cool)

Diana 10:1 (cute. has a gimmick)

Camile 50:1 (too shy)

Jasmine 20:1 (pretty)

George 50:1 (Fan-favorite, but limited. Better than Rickey Smith.)

Jon Peter 25:1(Would be worse, but he's a fan-favorite)

Jennifer 50:1(She'll hit the wall some time)

Leah 75:1 (Nobody will vote for her. This year's Julia. -except I liked Julia!)

Matt 15:1 (He'll get Josh's votes. I didn't like him either.)

John Stevens 90:1(Too limited)

LaToya 25:1(Talent may overcome lack of apparent personality. Maybe she'll grow on us.)

Finally, here is the number 5 article:

William Hung, Sub-genius?

By Jamie Burnside
Posted Thursday, March 11, 2004 on jamieburnside
Discussion: Misc
As I was looking at my e-mail this afternoon, I saw that MSN was featuring an article on William Hung. (Mr. Hung is that funny Chinese guy who sang "She Bangs" at his "American Idol" audition.)

Since his Idol appearance, William has done the talk show circuit, and has made an album, and a music video.

He is quickly becoming sort of a pop-culture phenomenon. He is really using the Cheese-factor to his benefit. (I may even be tempted to get his record.)

I visited his website at: http://www.williamhung.net That was really well-done. I recommend it to those of you who like internet surfing.

I can see Mr. Hung's face adorning t-shirts, record covers, and stickers 20 years from now. William Hung's image may supplant that of "Bob the Sub-genius" for that very role.

Comments

King Punjabi

on Apr 23, 2004

great job Jamie. You even made a top 5! sweet

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