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Go Bayside

go bayside

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge Saved by the Bell fan. I could go toe-to-toe with anyone on SBTB trivia (impressive, I know), that’s why it was a big shock that there was a podcast about Saved by the Bell that I didn’t know about. Imagine that, two of my favorite things joined together, podcasts and SBTB. The result is the awesome Go Bayside.

If you’re not familiar with the podcast, it was started by comedian April Richardson and each episode is an in-depth discussion on an episode of SBTB (done in order of air date). About 2 years ago I had an idea to do a SBTB podcast but 1. I don’t have the time or know-how to do a podcast and 2. I would be hard-pressed to find someone that loves SBTB as much as me.

Anyway, the podcast, which is nearing the end of its run, features guest appearances by other comedians and actors, such as Chris Hardwick, Paul F. Tompkins, and Entourage’s Jerry Ferrara (Turtle), among others. Some of the guests are fans of the show and others never really watched it. Ferrara may even give me a run at super fan status. The discussions are hilarious and really shed light on how ridiculous the show actually was. If you ever watched the show and love podcasts, you should definitely check it out. It may bring back some good memories of the Saturday mornings and weekday afternoons that you spent with Zack and the gang.

If Doctor Who were American

A couple of weeks ago Kottke posted a video showing the American counterparts for each British actor who has played Doctor Who. The video was based on the actors chosen by Smug Mode. Each actor is a perfect fit for the role, including, surprisingly, Community’s Donald Glover. Watch the video below.

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Uverse to Block 20 Cardinals Games Again This Season

You would think that the two sides, Uverse and Fox Sports Midwest, would have come to some sort of agreement in the offseason. Well, if you thought that, you’d be wrong.

For the second season in a row, Uverse subscribers will not be able to watch 20 games, including tonight’s versus the Reds. In fact, 7 of the 20 that are blacked out are games against division rivals like the Reds, Brewers, and Cubs.

Here’s the list of games being blacked out by Uverse.

DATE OPPONENT TIME
April 9 at Reds 6:10 p.m.
April 10 at Reds 6:10 p.m.
April 15 vs. Cubs 1:15 p.m.
April 17 vs. Reds 7:15 p.m.
April 23 at Cubs 7:05 p.m.
April 27 vs. Brewers 7:15 p.m.
May 2 vs. Pirates 7:15 p.m.
May 3 vs. Pirates 12:45 p.m.
May 11 vs. Braves 7:15 p.m.
May 16 at Giants 9:15 p.m.
May 17 at Giants 2:45 p.m.
June 13 vs. White Sox 7:15 p.m.
June 14 vs. White Sox 7:15 p.m.
June 19 at Tigers 6:05 p.m.
June 20 at Tigers 6:05 p.m.
June 25 at Marlins 6:10 p.m.
July 24 vs, Dodgers 7:15 p.m.
July 25 vs, Dodgers 7:15 p.m.
Aug. 3 vs. Brewers 7:15 p.m.
Aug. 10 at Phillies 6:05 p.m.

If you’re going to stay with Uverse, call 1-800-288-2020 and ask for customer retention. Tell them you’re unhappy about the situation and demand a discount. If they are going to screw over their subscribers, hit ’em where it hurts… in their bottom line. Of course, it would be better if you cancel completely (not an option for a lot of people, I know).

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Replacing Politics with TV

Two of the biggest things I blog about are politics and TV. I blog about those subjects so much I started sites on the topics (the long abandoned Political Jackass, Grand Old Parody, and Let’s Talk About TV. For those who know me, I’m very passionate (and opinionated) about politics. So passionate, that I would let politics affect me in ways that, in my opinion, shouldn’t. I would read political articles and news and could feel my blood pressure rise at the content. I would have endless debates with friends and family, and that is rarely a good thing. I never understood how people could be so apathetic to politics. How can you not care about the country and the people that run it. I maybe cared a bit too much and that wasn’t healthy, so I decided to start a new hobby. That’s when I started Let’s Talk About TV.

A lot of my previous posts here have been about TV, but this wasn’t really a TV blog. In fact, there were a lot more posts I wanted to write but didn’t because it would be a non-stop TV stream. That’s why I decided to start a dedicated blog for TV-related posts. A few days after deciding on the domain name I had the site up and running. It has gone through a design change already, but I’m proud of how it turned out. Best of all, it has replaced the timesuck that politics used to take up. TV blogging has become my new hobby. Instead of reading political article after political article and posting them on my political sites, I now look for TV news. This has definitely been a good thing for my blood pressure. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m still heavily opinionated, I still make an occasional post, and I still read political news everyday, but it is not as important to me as it used to me. It is no longer a hobby of mine.  Let’s Talk About TV is.

Let’s Talk About TV has been a fun project for me. I don’t really care if it ever gets big because it’s just a hobby. I get a respectable amount of traffic for a site that’s only a few months old, and RSS subscriptions seem to increase by a few each week. There are some things I would really like to do with it, it’s just a matter of getting access to the people I need. I also hope to do some more reviews when I have more time. The problem is, I hate doing individual TV show reviews. Who really cares about a review for a single episode? I plan on doing reviews for TV show premieres, TV technology, and perhaps even DVD boxed set releases. I would also like to do a monthly contest for my readers. We shall see how this all plays out, but the site has definitely become something I’m glad I did. If you haven’t checked out Let’s Talk About TV, please do.

Downgrading Uverse

I recently decided to downgrade my AT&T Uverse services. Before I downgraded, I had the top tier TV package (with all channels, HD, and all movie channels) and the top tier internet package (18mb). I decided that with Hulu, iTunes rentals, and Netflix (along with other modes of obtaining content), I no longer needed the top tier TV package.

Most of the shows I watch are currently on regular network channels or basic cable channels such as TBS, TNT, and USA. I do watch some shows on the movie channels so I will need to either wait for those to appear on Netflix or arrange for other ways to watch them. I dropped two levels on the TV plan and saved myself about $45 a month. For the internet, I decided to only drop down one level sine I enjoy Netflix streaming. I went from 18mb to 12. That saved me $10 a month. It will be nice not to have to pay $170+ a month for those two services anymore. Would have I liked to keep all my movie channels? Yes, for the simplicity of not having to find additional means to watch those shows (I rarely watch movies on the movie channels), but that alone could not justify the additional cost.

It is pretty ridiculous how much TV and internet costs these days. Uverse was the cheapest TV and internet combo I could find. Charter might have been cheaper for what I wanted but 1. I hate Charter with a passion. 2. Charter has bandwidth caps. Uverse, as of now, does not. Going with a dish service was an option, but then I’d be paying a higher internet fee to get internet through another source (which would most likely be Charter). With prices the way they are it’s easy to see why customers are clamoring for a la carte TV options and services like Hulu Plus, Netflix, and iTunes TV Rentals. When will the cable and satellite companies learn? My guess is never. They will hold on to their outdated business models for years and years, just like the RIAA has.