Ticketmaster: why?
Just out of curiosity: what's the point of Ticketmaster? Seriously. I just bought a ticket to see Ozomatli at the Fillmore this weekend (they're playing 4 straight nights there: you should go.) and they tacked on not only a $8.30 "Convenience Charge," but a $4.60 "Order Processing Charge" on the next screen. That turns a ticket that's nominally $25 into $37.90.
I know I'm not the first person to be irked by this, but for the love of Pete, WHY? I understand their inclination to squeeze us for every last penny that they can--that's how these things work--but what gets ...
11.30.06
Boardgaming Season
Boardgaming Season
It’s the holiday season, and for me that means extra blankets and a chance to play board games with my family. During the holidays everyone can come together and have at least some time off of work. This is one of my family traditions, and I highly recommend that you try it this holiday season as well. The key is to find a fun game that is easy to learn and not too long. I recommend Ticket to Ride. I agree with the game manufacturer, it takes under 5 minutes to teach, and it is ...
11.29.06
Carnival of Shopping #5
Well, it’s just a carn-tastic week here, isn’t it? Well let me be the first to say welcome, and I promise that our clowns probably aren’t serial killers!
Mr. Cheap Stuff has a useful list of restaurants that give you a little something nice on your birthday–from Chili’s (free song? What, they normally charge for that?) [...]
Carnival of Shopping #5
Well, it's just a carn-tastic week here, isn't it? Well let me be the first to say welcome, and I promise that our clowns probably aren't serial killers!
Mr. Cheap Stuff has a useful list of restaurants that give you a little something nice on your birthday--from Chili's (free song? What, they normally charge for that?) to "various strip clubs" which, if I recall correctly, usually hand out little Bible tracts.
Omiru's readers say that velvet jackets are in, although personally I think that girl would make a plaid polyester trash bag look good.
Good old Matt Hutter has some big-box retail secrets ...
11.28.06
Guest hosting: Festival of Frugality
Guest hosting: Festival of Frugality
Buenos ding-dong-diddly dias folks, and welcome to the 50th edition of the Festival of Frugality. Sure, we rock the Carnival of Shopping here (and have one on the way tomorrow) but we figured we'd take a stab at hosting another one of our favorites, because man, do we love stabbing.
Let's start it off with an excellent idea from Kim at Reviews in a Shoe: a frugality blogroll. I'm adding us, although her "clean and family-friendly" requirement does rather preclude the entry I had planned about how to waste your money like a pornstar. Oh well.
Binary Dollar has some good ...
11.27.06
The Blacklist Does Exist!
The Blacklist Does Exist!
Retailers are usually glad to make a consumer happy by returning something they don’t want/need. Unfortunately, thieves and other shady characters take advantage of this with compulsive returns. This high expenditure has caused most retailers to fight back with a black list.
My experience with Target, Mervyns, Nordstrom, and Sears is that they will place you on a list after three returns without a receipt in a single year. It has also been my experience that Sears can place you on the list after one incident if the manager feels it appropriate.
Out of the hundreds of thousands of ...
11.22.06
See you Monday, folks
See you Monday, folks
Well, it's that time of year again: time to curse the lack of good fortune in our lives, with great gnashing of teeth, and--
Oh. No? Right, right, right. This year, I'm thankful for:
The Cingular 8125 from HTC. I swapped my 2125 for it on a 30 day return, and man, this thing is rad to the max. Too bad Colin broke his. Idiot.
The American steel industry: second to none except China, and still a great way to kill an afternoon as a tourist in scenic Pittsburgh.
Children. They're our future, you know.
All right, we're out until Monday, because if you ...
11.22.06
Kookoo for Mooka Kinney
Kookoo for Mooka Kinney
Jill pointed this designer duo out to me quite a while ago (mostly for their insanely cute dresses but also for a certain girly similarity in design and color palette to Tsumori Chisato) and then today, I read about it on another fashion blog. Sooo it’s being carried by Barneys. Always a good sign.
Sherry
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11.21.06
This is Broken: This is Awesome
This is Broken: This is Awesome
Just added a hilarious new site to the blogroll: This Is Broken. It reminds me of my favorite part of Consumer Reports: the "Selling It" part in the back, where they point out the ridiculous, stupid and flat-out nonsensical claims that companies make in advertising and packaging.
This is Broken has a slightly broader scope (witness the sign to the left) and manages to find some truly bizarre stuff.
What are they totaling?
Yum.
The danger of placeholders.
Enjoy.
Aram
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11.20.06
Gift ideas from the city of shops
Gift ideas from the city of shops
You don’t have to be a New Yorker to read New York Magazine. But the city that never sleeps is also the city that shops. So, who better to ask for some gift ideas, than shopstaff at some of the coolest shops in the Big Apple, starting off with some nice (and naughty) book ideas...
Mimi
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11.20.06
Save me, Mickey
Save me, Mickey
Getting into the home stretch of my first semester of law school was tiring, but now I'm looking forward to winter break next month. After finals I knew I needed to get my mind off of school and give my loved ones a much needed break from hearing me babble boring legal talk. I researched cheap get away deals since tuition has left me destitute, and I found Get Away Today to book my trip to Disneyland. For under $475 I booked a trip for two at the Castle Inn for 3 nights with 3-Day Disneyland Resort ...
