I hate itptickets.com

I've bought tickets on itptickets.com a couple of times already, and never ran into any problems with the website.

A couple of days ago, I wanted to buy tickets to the Russell Peters show in Dubai. Now for those of you who don't know Russell Peters, he's a Canadian stand-up comedian of Indian origin, and he's really funny. You can watch part of his act here.

Anyway, so Russell had a first show planned on March 11, which sold out within hours of tickets going on sale. I had completely forgotten about the show that day and did not buy any tickets. So when I was told that the show had sold out, I was disappointed.

Then, my brother tells me that a second show was added, and that tickets would go on sale at midnight that night. That was a couple of days ago.

So at 11:45, I was ready. I had my laptop in front of me, my credit card ready, I had logged in to itptickets.com, and I was refreshing the page every 5 minutes to make sure I'd be one of the first to buy my tickets.

At 12 o'clock, things went awry. The website started messing up, and it was extremely slow. I tried several times to purchase my tickets but couldn't get through to the payment page. I was trying to get front section tickets, but after 20 minutes of pointless tries, I get a message saying that front section tickets were sold out.

Okay, fine. Let's try back section tickets then. Again, I try, and try, and try some more. Finally, another 20 minutes later, as I was about to fall asleep on my laptop, I succeed in getting to the payment page. Hurrah!

I enter my credit card info, and proceed with the payment. I get a black message box informing me to wait while my credit card is verified, and that if I do not get a confirmation message, I should contact a person from ITP, and that I should NOT attempt to send the order through again.

I knew deep down that my purchase did not go through. But I decided to go to bed that night, with a glimmer of hope that the next day, I would be pleasantly surprised.

So the very next morning, I called ITP ticket's infoline. I call, and call, and call again, and all I get is a voice saying "all our representatives are currently busy, please leave a message and we will call you back"... only to be followed by another message saying "sorry, our mailbox is currently full".

Hmm...Finally, by around 2PM, I manage to speak to a human being. He very grudgingly takes my name and phone number, and says that he will investigate if my payment went through and will call me back.

No news.

I decide to call again today, and after several tries, I manage to speak to someone (I think it was the same grumpy person I spoke to the first time), and this time he confirms that my payment did not go through, and that I did not get any tickets.

He said that 8000 people were trying to access the site that day, and there were 1800 tickets on sale only.

He also said that they were trying to book a 3rd show, but that they were awaiting confirmation from Russell Peters, to see if he could do it. And that they would contact me if this was the case.

Anyway, I know that it's not all ITP's fault, and that the number of people trying to access their website at the same time would have wreaked havoc on any website, not just theirs...but still...I really really wanted some Russell Peters tickets :(

Prince Charles vs McDonald's

Prince Charles, who is on a Middle-East tour (and is in Dubai today) may have ruffled a few feathers when he said yesterday: "Have you got anywhere with McDonald's? Have you tried getting it banned? That is the key." He was discussing children's eating habits with an Abu Dhabi nutritionist yesterday when he blurted this out.

The news has already spread around the world, like in this article in the Daily Mail. Notice how they point out that a Duchy Original Cornish Pasty (whatever that is) contains more calories, fat and salt than a Big Mac. And incidently, Duchy Original is owned by Prince Charles! Woops...talks about putting your foot in your mouth!

And what about the fact that Prince Harry was recently seen buying chicken nuggets and a burger...Hmm...

Better watch what you're saying there Charlie...

The Oscars 2007

The buzz these past couple of days has been about the Oscars...and just like everyone else, I have an opinion about everything from who deserved to win to what people were wearing...
I didn't get to watch the whole thing unfortunately because the live broadcast was way too early for me to be awake, and the re-run started at 10PM last night, and there was no way I was going to stay up till 2:30 in the morning watching the Oscars. How stupid of One TV (or Dubai one as they are now called) to put 2 full hours of mind-numbingly boring arrivals before actually airing the show!!!

Anyway, here's my 2 cents about the winners:

- Helen Mirren...definitely deserved to win best actress! I watched The Queen a few months ago, and I must admit that I went into the movie not expecting anything, and came out pleasantly surprised and defintely impressed. She not only played the role, she owned it!

- Best actor Forrest Whitaker: no comment about that, as I did not see the Last King of Scotland. And I'm not sure if any of the other nominees deserved to win.

- Best Director: Martin Scorcese....yes, he deserves to win, if only because he's been nominated 8 times already without ever winning. But although I haven't seen Babel (yet), I have a soft spot for the director (Alejandro González Iñárritu who also directed Amores Perros and 21 Grams, both amazing movies), and I kind of wanted him to win.

- Best picture: The Departed. Hmm...not convinced by that one. Yes it's a good movie. But was it really the best one?

- Best supporting actor: Alan Arkin. I liked Little Miss Sunshine...didn't LOVE it, but it was an all-round good movie, and I must admit that all the actors in that movie were incredible, but Alan Arkin was not the one who stood out the most in that movie...I thought that Toni Collette, Steve Carell and Abigail Breslin were the true winners of that movie. And I think that either Eddie Murphy (Dreamgirls) or Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond) deserved to win this category.

- Best supporting actress: Jennifer Hudson. Okay. I'm happy for her, and it's truly remarquable that she's gone from American Idol contestant to Oscar winner in such a short time. But I really really do not believe that she deserved to win an Oscar. Maybe it's because I watched Dreamgirls a couple of days ago, and I was this close to walking out of that movie. I just could not stand the singing, which sounded more like screaming to me. Plus the storyline was a bit weak.

Now when it comes to clothes, you can see all the Oscar ladies here (the men don't count...they all wear black suits and white shirts...booooring!). Scroll down to see all the pictures.

My favourites?
- Helen Mirren: stunning, classy, confident...amazing dress
- Reese Witherspoon: she has looked amazing at every single one of her public appearances since the breakup of her marriage
- Cate Blanchett: always a class act
- Celine Dion: her dress looked pretty good...her face....no comment!
- Jennifer Lopez: maybe a bit over the top, but she can (and did) pull it off
- Rachel Weisz: I loved the dress, but she should have lost that necklace....too much!
- Nicole Kidman: only she can pull off a dress like that. She looked stunning.
- Penelope Cruz: classy and simple. Maybe a different color would have been better, but overall, I liked the look.
- Kate Winslet: alway simple and classy.

Worst dressed:
- Cameron Diaz: what the hell was that?
- Jennifer Hudson: that gold bolero thing looks painful...and ugly!
- Jessica Biel: I dunno...that color was just wrong...
- Anne Hathaway: Anne, Anne, Anne...you're so pretty...why do you do this to yourself?
- Beyonce: one word: tacky!
- Eva Green: nope...doesn't work. Too much makeup and the dress makes her look washed out...
- Kelly Preston: animal prints are out...waaaay out!
- Jodie Foster: that dress did nothing for her. Neither the color, nor the cut.

Undecided:
- Gwyneth Paltrow: Only she can pull off a dress like that, in that color...but I'm still not sure it's the best choice she could have made.
- Emily Blunt: She looked good, but I'm not so sure about the shiny blue fabric.

OK enough...my fingers are tired...haven't typed such a long post in a while!

Discoveries

I've finally discovered a yoga place right next to my work...and I am soooooo happy! It's really convenient because it's a 5-minute drive away, and the classes are interesting. The timings are a bit off though, so either I'll have to start leaving work earlier than usual, or wait for the later classes to begin...we'll see... But all I can say is, boy am I out of shape. There was some serious muscle pain after the first couple of classes!

I've also recently discovered Facebook, an online community which allows you to find and link up to friends all over the world. Now, I haven't used Facebook to its full potential yet (adding pictures and messages etc.), but it has satisfied my never-ending need of always finding people I know in common with other people I know...I can now play my own version of 6 degrees of separation online! Love it!

And finally, I've discovered that some people can be condescending, stupid, rude, mean and unprofessional, despite them having no seemingly obvious reason to be this way. And that I have yet to learn how to deal with these people. Any thoughts or advice? (I can't adopt my typical "avoidance" strategy, as these are people I need to interact with on a daily basis...so what do I do?)

Grammys

This was a performance on last night's Grammy awards, with Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend, and John Mayer.

I can't seem to figure out how to embed videos on my blog (although I've done it before!), but anyway, click on the link above and check it out. An amazing performance by 3 very very talented artists...

I've always loved John Mayer, he is truly gifted...and did you know he has his own blog too? I just can't believe he is going out with airhead Jessica Simpson! C'mon John! (Yes, by the way, I am an avid gossip reader...shocking!!)

And who knew he was a Grey's Anatomy fan (just like me....I'm tellin you John, we're meant to be together!). Check out his post dated January 18th (from Beirut, Lebanon...how cool!), where he showcases his scriptwriting skills, penning some script excerpts where Dr Burke (played by Isaiah Washington, who recently caused controversy with his use of some inappropriate language at the Golden Globes), comes out to his friends and colleagues...

Well, at least the Grey's Anatomy writers have a backup option, in case they ever need one!

Emirates News

I just watched Dubai One's Emirates News for the first time today. The half hour newscast is the first local English-language newscast in the UAE.

Kudos to One TV for taking that first step in catering to the non-Arabic speakers of the UAE (or to the Arabic speakers, like me, who do not read or watch the news in Arabic).

The newscast itself was OK, although could use some improvement. The studio is nicely designed, but the graphics looked a bit cartoonish.

The presenter looked like she had rehearsed one too many times, resulting in a lack of genuineness and believability. And she must have said "High Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai" around 5 times in just the first 3 minutes of the newscast!

Also, every time a headline or title or name appears on screen, there's an annoying bell and swoosh sound that accompanies it, which is very distracting when you're trying to pay attention to what the presenter or reporter is saying.

Some of the stories covered were far from exciting, while others could have been reported with more depth, but like I said, this is the first newscast of its kind, and it's still in its infancy, so I'm sure there will be improvements along the way.

Too risqué?

This Superbowl ad has been pulled off the air in the US, due to its allegedly controversial nature.

What do you think? Is it worth being pulled? Or has it all been blown out of proportion?

All I know is, this ad has gotten more than 600,000 views on YouTube already, countless articles have been written about it, numerous reports have aired in the news, Snickers no longer has to pay gazillions of dollars to air this ad, and everyone has an opinion about it....So who's the real winner here?

Has Snickers tarnished its image? Will it impact sales? Or will they be laughing all the way to the bank?

Interesting...

...and refreshing...

I love the way this guy thinks. Logical, open-minded and moderate.

http://switch5.castup.net/frames/20041020_MemriTV_Popup/video_480x360.asp?ai=214&ar=1363wmv&ak=null

Why?

Why am I up by 9:30 on a Friday morning after being up until 5AM last night? (or this morning to be more accurate?). Why? WHYYYYY? Can someone please explain to me?

ARGHHHHH!

A good thing

I never expected I'd see an article on a reduction in price of anything in the UAE, but in Emirates Today, there's an article about the Ministry of Economy reducing ticket prices back from Dhs 35 to Dhs 30. Ticket prices had gone up at the beginning of the year.

Apparently it has something to do with consumer protection laws, and the fact that the concessions inside the movie theater are already so damn expensive.

Way to go Ministry of Economy. It's good to see that they're actually keeping an eye on these things. Here's to hoping they're as diligent about other price increases in the UAE.