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June 22, 2006
Play, Laugh, Dream, Celebrate...
Tuesday June 20th, 2006
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Sidekick 3 party... When you hear T-Mobile Sidekick.. the name Paris Hilton is the first thing that comes to mine.. Well tonight was the launch party for the year now rumored 4th reincarnation of the multi-purpose popular cell phone device.. The Sidekick 2 has become hugely popular and you cannot go anywhere in LA without seeing someone typing away.. I had a chance to check out the phone and the review will be after my rants and such below..
This was my first event since Februaryish due to my school boy mode. I tried to rid myself of all distractions.. I call it my overachieving mode.. The result?... Been pulling As and B the last 2 semesters fulltime and going into honors.. What’s good is that with the honors system at the school, they have contracts with Universities in California and UCLA and USC on are on the list!! Back to the subject..
Headed off pretty early to the Hollywood Palladium where the event is being held.. I was one of the first to show up which I guess is good.. I didn’t really want to deal with other photogs who can sometimes be dicks. When I drove up to Argyle off of Sunset, the whole block was barricaded off.. I guess its a fairly big event.. Well I assumed so but I try not to get too hyped up about these events..
After waiting around for a few minutes.. Christine rolled on up and said howdy to her. I emailed her awhile back but never a response but we both came to the conclusion that her email wanted forwarding to her main email. I wanted to get in touch with her to pick her brain about the business and get at her Grey's Anatomy Season 1 DVD signed by the whole cast.. She came by from shooting Tera Patrick at Virgin.. Yum yum!!
Other photographers came along and it was good to see familiar faces and such.. Met Glen, who was one of the photographers there. He seemed to recognize me from another event.. I couldn’t recall him though. He was an awesome person to chatter with.. and was one of the non-serious looking photogs there.. Anyways!
Around 8:15, we checked in and went to our spots.. The lighting was totally horrible.. Oh well.. We tried to move the lights towards our general direction on the carpet. More and more waiting around until I say 9ish..
The first few arrivals were giving me the idea of what the F***!? Jose Conseco? Aaron Carter and his sister girl group or something? Totally random basketball players.. As the night went on it got better.. Taylor Cole, Kristin Bell, Rachel Bilson, Sarah Carter, Christopher Knight, Adrianne Curry, Carlos Mencia, Travis Barker, Mark Hoppus, Shane West, Chris Masterson, Laura Prepon, Haylie and Hillary Duff, Kristin Cavalerri, Serena Williams and Marques Houston to name a few.
It was hella funny when me and 2 other photographers sang out the Ms. New Booty song when Vida Guerra rolled up. It was hella funny. Now for the main event… However there is a quiet before the storm.. J.C. Chasez, Kelly Monaco, Christina Milian. Jadakiss and Jason Mewes. I had to stop Jason because he didn’t want to do the line but Clerks 2 is coming out and yeah.. ha.. The chick photog next to be was on a plastic stand and like broke it twice. I didn’t think about it at the time but she could have pulled my jacket and we could have fell off the platform. Well ok..Dude the carpet was also the walk way for guest of the party to walk inside to the party and man.. When we get an opt to shoot, people kept on walking in the shot and no one would stop them. It was so damn annoying.. One photog was getting hella pissed and kinda blew up at the main PR rep there and was booted… Ouch… he had a valid reason because all we did was yell hold the line when shooting.. but whatever..
Now the storm!! Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Misha Barton, Jessica Simpson and Eva Longoria all to seem to arrive at once. What I found interesting is that Paris walked the pink carpet first then Nicole.. interesting.. I believe the feud is all made up and they want to see how long they can go. Paris did come with a hot chick, Kim Kardashian. Very very hot.. I guess she was rumored to be Nick Lachey's new girlfriend at some point.. who knows.. Paris did an interview with ET and blah blah she was saying she was visiting friends at the party and leaving to Paris on Thursday.. YAWN YAWN…She wears a lot of make up, kinda cakey if you ask me but she does have a unique look to her and I LOVE her perfume! It looks like she is sporting a new trendy and is trying to launch it or something.. I think Lindsay Lohan was doing it before but imagine you have a white glove and half of the lower part is cut off and youre wearing it... Yeah.. I know.. Just to say it.. Nicole Richie is WAY too skinny and Janice Dickenson is a mess!! When someone askes her why the long face.. they arent asking her why shes sad..
Jessica Simpson and Eva Longoria were attached at the hip. Down the press line she told Manny that she is doing a video with Jessica with Ryan Seacrest.. Interesting.. Is it me or does Jessica Simpson pose involves elevating her right shoulder so when she smiles her shoulder is touch her nose? You be the judge.. Manny interviewed J.C. and he informs about his new CD coming out October.. I hope it doesn’t drop when Justin Timberlake's second album drops. Cuz that would suck for JC.. BURN!! As Zach Braff on Scrubs would say, “ZOOM, ZOOM, ZOOM!” Just kidding…. Sorta..
Manny and I tried to discuss the situation with his website and my plans for a celebrity type podcast. We gotta get the ball rolling on this. If you are reading this and represent say Sony or Panasonic… anyone who has video recording devices.. How about a donation/investment to our video podcast? We will of course have note of the product in the end credits like Kevin Smith’s Clerks 2 video podcast does.. Email me at anh@anh-nguyen.com if interested or want more info on our part?!
When the red carpet.. well pink carpet died down.. Manny, Chris, and I went into the party to check it on out.. This party was bumping.. The mantra of the party was projected on the walls.. "Play, Laugh, Dream, Celebrate" You know its an official hollyweird party when you have an ice sculpture hitting your senses when you enter.. The sculpture of course was of the sidekick and its was pretty interesting looking.. I have a horrible photo of it on the right hand side with my other cell phone photos.. The second thing that hits you is a ball pit.. a ball pit with girls in very very short shorts and wearing very tight shirts.. The description of the event was an adult childhood like playground.. I thought this entailed that the party goers were going to jump around in ball pits, sliding off slides and swinging on swings.. I was soo wrong.. Again.. Very limited clothed girls doing the actions of the previous activities i mentioned prior and there was a sandbox.. Enough said about that.. for now..
We walked around and took in the atmosphere.. Dead ahead towards the back was the rather large stage.. DJ AM was spinning the music... His mixes are totally random and usually pretty crazy but I wasn’t really feeling his mix tonight.. Along with the adult childhood theme.. carnival games were around the perimeter. A hammer frog jump hit the gopher head game, basketball, can knock down, and the ball tosses were the ones I recall. They event had a green screen photo booth.. Of course there were drinks galore but the hor'dourves were really interesting.. The girls were walking around with cupcakes, pizza slices, cookies, mini corn dogs and things to that nature. There was even a dude making cotton candy.. I would have got up on the cotton candy since I haven’t had any in ages but the guy making it look rather pissed off..
I caught up with Efren.. Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite.. Brought up a party awhile back that my friends and I threw, that was crazy as heck.. We had to pick his ass up from somewhere far.. I think it was Thousand Oaks.. C’mon 1000 Oaks to Rancho? Goodness... Chatted it up some and exchange the digits since its been awhile and yeah.. Lost Manny and the group but I decided to walk around and take in the energy.. Walked on by pass JC, Mike Tyson and Paris and Kim walked by hand and hand..
It was a pretty packed event.. I say 200 give or take? Met up with the group for a little bit longer and they had to head off.. Now off to do some more networking.. For whatever reason I didn’t find the need to run off to the bar and get myself a drink. Noticed one of the host or something on G4 Attack of the Show.. Will was his name.. The show has gotten sooo damn lame and the whole network programming is revolved around entertainment but the way they present it is totally lame and unwatchable. We chatted a bit and I asked him about Sarah Lane because I haven’t seen her for awhile when I do watch the show.. He tells me Her and Brendan whatever on the show got married and is traveling around the world. They have some podcasts and very emo scene style website.. I asked about her ex-boyfriend Kevin Rose, Digg.com Kevin, and Will says he could give a fuck. Totally laughed about that..
Lee Norris was hanging with his publicist... I wanted to call out Minkis.. You know the nerdy dude that was on Boy Meets World.. Awww the memories.. She Wants Revenged started rocking out on stage.. I heard a lot about them and their performance at Coachella.. From the performance they had, they are an awesome band. Gotta go get their album..
It was getting close to midnight and I had my fill with the party.. However not before I got my hand on a Sidekick 3.. Here comes my personal review of the phone that will be publicly released July 10th and specially available to current Sidekick owners on June 28th. Be sure to get your hands on one quick because they will be sold out.. When I thought about that it kinda reminded me about how I could have gotten the Sidekick 2 for Christmas as a gift but it was sold out.. and with the Hollywood Bowl season coming up...Seriously.. Seriously?!... I digress...
Sidekick III Review
The phone has finally caught up with the many devices currently on the market.. I believe the reason why the technology was not included was the fact owners didn’t care too much about the bells and whistles and purchased it for its functionality. The current Sidekick model includes a 1.3 mega pixel camera, Bluetooth technology for those wireless headsets and PC syncing, a removable flash memory (miniSD), removable battery and an mp3 player. Yes.. I know.. Phones already have this and what’s up with the lag. Who the heck knows..
The phone is indeed smaller than the Sidekick 2. The volume, power and left right page buttons are not embossed or protruding. These buttons sit rather flush with the phone on the corners. The removable battery does give you option to purchase another battery since Sidekick 2 owners and myself do complain about the battery life. The phone will not last a day even if you do not touch it. The removable battery option will be ideal since the phone can be used as an MP3 player.
What I found disturbing was the change of the scroll wheel. The Sidekick 3 now has a track ball instead of the wheel. The trackball is very VERY sensitive. When scrolling through the menu I accidentally entered menus and applications I did not intentionally want. You have to have a really soft touch. The OS of the phone has changed... MSN Messenger has been added to the current AOL/AIM and Yahoo Instant Messenger clients. The menus are more organized that could be explained as folders. Go into the messenger menu from the main menu and you get the IM client options and it works the same for games..
Overall the phone is an improvement over its predecessor but the bells and whistles are more like a toot compared to current generation phones. The phone still lacks with limited 6 megabytes for email storage.. That is including all mail not just your Tmail messenges. The screen is still rather small with the same resolution as the Sidekick 2 and gets washed out with direct sunlight. With the mainstream appeal of the phone, the Bluetooth serves no purpose for the casual user. Why do I believe this? Whoever has a Sidekick especially the third version wants to show it off and I can guarantee you will not see many Sidekick 3 users talking to themselves on a Bluetooth headset. If you plan on having more than 5 songs on your stock 64 megabyte miniSD card, I suggest purchasing a large capacity card. I found a one gig miniSD on eBay for $.99 cents. Also with not way to change the bumpers since there are not any, you will have to invest in some Swarovski crystals or a plastic sticker skin to add character and uniqueness to your streamline silver and black phone. $300 for a 2 year contract upgrade, $350 for new activation and $400 with no contract. Is the phone worth the price? You will have to decide that for yourself.. I would say yes but I am a Sidekick owner who would die without mine.
Click here for the Official Sidekick III website
Like the title of this entry and phrase from the party says..
Posted by Anh at 4:51 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
June 18, 2006
Dog Whistle for Teenagers??
Ever forget to turn off your phone or put it on silent when in class? Ever wanted to have a ringtone on and not have your parents hear it? Well you're in luck..
In an article in the New York Times, A Ring Tone Meant to Fall on Deaf Ears PAUL VITELLO reports that this ringtone cannot be heard due to its high pitch and the presbycusis or aging of the ear. If you like link through to the page you can hear or not hear the sound.
Personally I found the sound quite annoying and even heard the sound while the volume was at zero. Maybe this tells me I have awesome hearing but knock on wood I do own iPods. Go ahead and listen to the sound, if you cant hear it, you might have to get your hears checked if you're under the age of 40.
Enjoy the Silence
Posted by Anh at 11:58 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 17, 2006
The Sidekick III Launch Party..
The launch party for the new T-Mobile Sidekick is this coming Tuesday on the 20th. Celebrities will be the first to check out and use the phone first... Here is the list of those celebs who will be at the party. Photos to come after the party and official description of the product.... This launch party is good sign that the actual phone will be available to the general public very soon.
Performances by THE FUTUREHEADS and SHE WANTS REVENGE and spinning by DJ AM. Celebrities, VIPs and trendsetters are expected to turn out for a first look at the sleek new Sidekick 3, which has been redesigned and incorporates the latest technology in a slimmer, sexier package.Celebrities and industry VIPs including Amare Stoudemire (NBA Phoenix Suns), Carlos Mencia (The Shield), Chris Kattan (Saturday Night Live), Clementine Ford (House MD), Corey Maggette (NBA Los Angeles Clippers), Daisy Fuentes, Dane Cook (Employee of the Month), George Stults (7th Heaven), Haylie Duff (Material Girls), Ivana Bozilovic (Wedding Crashers), JC Chasez (N’Sync), Jennifer Freeman (The O.C.), Jennifer Love Hewitt (Horse Whisper), Kaley Cuoco (8 Simple Rules), KORN (Band), Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars), Kristen Cavallari (Laguna Beach), Laura Prepon (That 70’s Show), Mark Hoppus (Blink 182), Maroon 5 (Band), Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville), Michelle Trachtenberg (Ice Princess), Nick Cannon (Wild ‘N’ Out: The Nick Cannon Show), Travis Barker....
Sidekick III Details
Added Features:
# A removable battery
# Additional storage via a miniSD card slot. A card will be included with the product.
# USB Cable and syncing
# A hands free stereo headset
# A better designed carrying case
# Improved 1.3 megapixel camera
# Bluetooth 1.2
# An improved display (65k color SXVGA)
A miniSD card will be an awesome additional that could make it a traveling mp3 player. The updated camera will be a major asset to the SK2 horrible VGA camera. Basicially the SK3 will have features that already appear in current generation cell phones.
I will be purchasing one as I do with all Sidekicks... :)
Posted by Anh at 1:20 AM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
June 1, 2006
Insert Pirate Cliche here..
On May 31st, the world's largest site that provides tracker links for media, .The Pirate Bay was taken offline. A tracker for bittorrent programs is like a map and hence the word tracker. A click on a link that is posted on a bittorrent tracker site and it links you to other peers who are downloading and sharing the file. The actual sites do not have any actual music or movies located anywhere on their servers. The reason why Napster in its hay day was easily taken down was the fact Napster servers were hosting music files.
In the press release released by MPAA, they seem pretty ecstatic that they are following the very reason why Americans are hated aboard. We enforced our beliefs and laws on countries out of our authority and bitch and moan until we get what we want. Awesome!!
However, I believe the site will be back up again. The site that has been shut down with a notice explaining the situation also states they will be back up in a few days. In the MPAA release, they also state how the Pirate Bay posted up cease-and desist letters where the site made fun of various companies (Microsoft, Warner Bros, EA) with their responses. I have read a few of these and they are quite funny. In one of the letters, the lawyer representing a company even admitted that he had no power since copyright laws in the USA does not apply all over the world especially in Sweden, where the Pirate Bay servers are located.
Basically the MPAA is gloating about the take down and is presenting incorrect facts. They are claiming banner ads on the site are profiting the administrators to the site where I am sure they are and the argument is that they are doing this by illegal operations. However as far as I know its not illegal to host simple links. You also have to keep in mind that current copyright laws pertaining to digital media is not cut and dry or even logical. Recently the people behind the Digital Millennium Copyright Act deemed ripping music off CDs and putting it on your computer or digital device is illegal. The whole debate that President Bush broke this law when it was shown he had Beatles music on his iPod. Currently the Beatles catalog cannot be purchased anywhere such as iTunes, Rhapsphy and so on. Basically our president broke the law…. Again.. but funny how it was changed it is legal now TO RIP YOUR OWN MUSIC. When dealing with the internet and technology, things are never cut and dry and will never be if we have state representatives pushing 80 and not know what an iPod is.
It will be pretty funny when the site is back up and running. What will also be a stinger is that if the Pirates Bay is deemed legal in Sweden, the government will have to compensate the site with damages...
No Comment... if i use tracker sites.... :P
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Posted by Anh at 3:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack