Nudity & Adult Language on Basic Cable
Topic: TV
Its refreshing to see that some of the nation's non-premium cable networks are offering more adult-oriented programming.

The last few years the television industry has been very cautious not to offend any one. With the the FCC crackdowns on what is or isn't considered indecent - edgy programming has almost disappeared from broadcast TV (NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, WB). Here's one example: "NYPD Blue" was tamed. "NYPD Blue", the show that used to air on ABC at 10pm, and featured brief nudity and adult language.

Luckily, a few of the cable networks have some adult oriented programming at night. Being an adult, its good that I have a choice to see this programming available to me.

FX features edgy series like "Rescue Me", "Nip/Tuck", "The Shield" and the upcoming "Over There". These shows feature brief nudity, violence, adult language and themes. There is a big warning screen before they begin to air. So there's the disclaimer to warn folks for children.

BBC America is also beginning to air some of the British shows in near or exact unedited form. For example, this past Sunday, a British series called "Footballers' Wives" began to air on BBC America. This series contains nudity and adult language.

There's even a show from Canada on the Oxygen TV network called "Bliss". This show tells stories about sex and features some nudity as well.

And even Comedy Central airs comedy specials and movies completely uncensored on Saturday Nights.

Its refreshing to see this type of programming finally being offered to Americans without a hefty premium movie channel fee. So if you're interested in some adult series - be sure to catch the shows mentioned above. Whoever says regular non-premium TV is without nudity or vulgar language obviously hasn't seen any of these shows.

HEAT WAVE!!!
Mood:  on fire
Topic: Weather
So its only June and we have already had temperatures in the 90s here in New York! It really sucks too because I don't have an AC at the moment. My living room was up to 91 degrees for the last few days during the day. Its like living in HELL!! Of course, its also hard sleeping at night when its so damn muggy. I really hope the whole summer isn't going to be hot and humid. Here in Central NY we aren't really used to several days in the 90s. August is usually the hottest month. I sure hope its not 100+ degrees in August! I think I'd dieeee! Well, there is some relief ahead anyways. Its suppose to be only in the upper 60s during the day near the end of this week. I was hoping for that!!

SIRIUS Satellite Radio
Topic: Electronics
So I recently switched back to Dish Network Satellite. Time Warner Cable was pissing me off.

With Dish Network I get access to the music channels on SIRIUS Satellite Radio. So here's a little review of them:

Well I'm a fan of rock music, so I mostly just listened to the rock channels so far. But there are channels for Top 40 hits, '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s music, country, rap, jazz, classical, dance, and even a channel that plays nothing but Elvis.

Their big claim is that they are commercial free. Indeed they are. Sure some of the channels have little announcements between songs (to let you know what station you're listening to), but zero advertisements.

Some of the channels have DJs as well. They are actually not bad. I used to listen to Music Choice on digital cable and that got boring because it was just like a jukebox - no human interaction at all. Its nice to have a DJ to tell you about certain songs.

The channels I listen to are Octane, Alt Nation, Hard Attack and sometimes Faction. Octane plays mostly current hard rock songs. They have some interesting DJs like the sexy voiced Kayla. She's always interesting to hear. They have a show called "Pump Your Own Octane" - which is basically a Top 5 countdown show. Its on weeknights and its the top 5 most requested songs. This is similar to what FM radio does, and I happen to like it. They also play "mash ups". These are basically a rock song and a rap song "mashed" together. Like The Prodigy and Eminem - "Breathe" & "Superman". That's the first one I have heard. They are kind of interesting to hear. Alt Nation plays alternative music (new and some from the 90s), but some of the music on Octane can be heard on Alt Nation as well. Alt Nation also has DJs. Hard Attack is where the metal is. They also have some cool DJs that give you info about bands. Sometimes on these stations they have artists live in the studio as well. Note that XM Satellite no longer has an all-metal station (they got rid of XM Liquid Metal), so SIRIUS is the only satellite radio service currently with a metal station. Faction is basically a channel for extreme sports enthusaists (like skateboarders, snowboarders, etc.) They play a mix of punk, rock and hip-hop. It can get annoying if you don't like hip-hop. But I tune in every now and then because they play some good rock and punk.

SIRIUS basically plays a lot of singles that can be heard on FM radio. While I have heard that XM plays both singles and deeper cuts off albums. Although, there are occasions when SIRIUS will play the additional songs off albums and not just the singles or hits from a certain band. Seems that if a person requests a song that isn'ta single - they will actually play it.

SIRIUS also has a tendency to repeat new songs a lot. Which is kind of nice if you want to hear a new song, but it gets annoying after you have heard it a lot. But I have been reading online forums about SIRIUS - like SIRIUS Backstage. And they claim on there that SIRIUS is expanding its playlists. So that is good. It seems they are currently working to improve their stations, and I fully welcome it.

Overall, I am satisfied with SIRIUS. Like I said, the DJs are refreshing to hear after getting so used to the jukebox-like Music Choice channels on digital cable. The fact that they have basically 4 stations that play newer rock is nice as well. The sound quality of the channels on Dish Network is actually quite good. I have heard some people complaining about the sound quality on the SIRIUS receivers, but it seems fine when heard through Dish Network.

Britney Spears IS Pregnant!
Topic: Females
Ya know a year or two ago Britney Spears was one of the hottest and most talked about celebrities. She was one of the most searched on search engines.

Then she decided to kill her popularity (among men anyways) by getting married. I'm sorry - but she seemed more sexier when she was single. But it seems once she got married things went downhill.

I visit celebrity message boards, and the messages about her are downright nasty. It seems her sexiness has disappeared. There are pics floating around the 'Net that show her wearing awful clothes - and she has even been referred to as "trailer trash".

But now - she's PREGNANT! So we can all forgive her for the unsexy photos that are circling around - or that are going to circle around in the future.

The question is - will she ever be as sexy as she once was? Will she be as popular as she once was? Or will this husband of hers destroy her career? Who knows what will happen. Only time will tell. Do guys still want her to pose in Playboy one day?? Or is she already yesterday's news?

Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 DVR Review
Topic: Electronics
Yesterday I traded in one of my Time Warner digital cable boxes for a DVR (Digital Video Recorder). It is a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000.

The first thing I noticed is its huge! Its about twice the size of my other digital cable box (Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2200). The remote is bigger as well. Its a universal remote that can be set up to control a TV set, DVD player, VCR, and audio receiver.

The DVR service is only $6.95/mo. This is definitely a better deal than Tivo as far as basic DVR service. Tivo charges just under 13 bucks a month. Most of that charge is probably for their added features which really aren't that worth it.

The SE Explorer 8000 has two tuners. That means one channel can be watched while recording another on the hard drive. Or even 2 channels can be recorded at once! And it can also record two channels at once while another saved recording is being watched off the hard drive.

Its a powerful box. Because of all these capabilites its kind of easy to overlook its ridiculously huge size. The SE Explorer 8000 can hold up to 40 hours of recordings on its hard drive. It also has PIP (picture-in-picture) built in.

One thing that is missing is the option to skip ahead 30 seconds in order to make it easy to skip commercials. I'm pretty sure Tivo has this option on their DVRs. But overall the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 is a great alternative to Tivo.

I think a DVR is a great device to use to enhance one's TV viewing. If you're watching something on TV and want an instant replay you can actually rewind live TV. The Explorer 8000 DVR stores up to an hour of what you are watching live.