For this week’s Fitted Fridays, I came across another NYC themed fitted cap.  Except this time, its a collaborative 59Fifty with MTV.  Unlike its usual outspoken logo, the only evidence of the collaboration is a tiny plain text hit on the back.  The only thing that really stands out with this tonal fitted is the ‘New York’ script embroidery on the right panels.  No frills, but definitely a staple classic in any collection.  Amazingstore has a small range of sizes available still for those interested.

Image Source: Amazingstore

This past weekend Saturday Night Live poked fun at everyone’s favorite guilty pleasure, MTV’s Jersey Shore. The skit took place during “Weekend Update” when Bobby Moynihan appeared on screen as Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, what ensues is pure comedy. At one point they accidentally mention mention “the situation”, at which point Bill Hader comes out as “The Situation” with BACK ABS! Watch below if you missed it.

Canadians watch here.

Watching web television programs in the comfort of your couch has just gotten a lot simpler with D-Link’s Boxee Box.  With a single hdmi cable connection and Boxee’s minimal looking remote, you could view pretty much anything off the web or content from your computer including your photo and music files.  Boxee also broadens its horizon by offering university lectures and presentations.  Look for Boxee Box some time within first quarter of 2010.

Image Source: Uncrate via Boxee

Last night Kanye West appeared on Jay Leno, he was already slotted to appear on the show with Jay-Z and Rihanna to perform “Run This Town”, but of course with all that went down at the MTV VMAs, Kanye did an impromptu apology / interview. I mean he looked and sounded pretty remorseful, but the question is will the public believe him, he’s done so much wack shit that I think people will be a bit skeptical, only time will tell. He can always blame it on the Henny.

Okay here’s a gem that I stumbled across. I was reading Street Fighter IV reviews, as the game just dropped this week, looks pretty damn good by the way. Anyways I managed to come across these series of short videos from College Humor that made me laugh so hard I nearly peed myself. I’ve never heard of this show as MTV in the US is somewhat different to Canada, but this comes from the College Humor show. They re-imagined what your favorite Street Fighter characters would look like, oh….10 years or so down the line and what they achieved is pure comedy and brilliance, the whole series is called “Street Fighter: The Later Years”. See if you can identify which characters are being played by who. Head on over to College Humor for the whole 9 part series.

One of my favorite clips is Part 6 of the series the “Ha-don’t-ken” episode, where Chun-Li is in bed with Blanka. Pretty effin’ hilarious. Oh and check Balrog, dude looks ill, BAHAHAHA.

Do you live outside of the United States? Ever wanted to watch the latest TV shows, movie trailer exclusives, surf exclusive content that is geared towards the US market? Well at my old job before I left that’s what I was able to do. I had a VPN setup as well as a US proxy allowing me, located in Canada, to surf freely on US sites and watch online TV while I was “working”. As readers may or may not know, a small group of us writers are located in Canada with the rest scattered in the US. So it royally sucks when we can’t see the latest MTV video, for example the Chester French video that Allicia posted the other day, or I have to find video content that’s friendly for international readers.

Long story short I figured I’d do some research this morning to see how I could possibly set something up at home easily and quickly and surf whatever site I wanted and passing that knowledge onto you the readers so that we’re all playing on an equal field. That research brought me to a TechCrunch article seen here. The article directs you to a software called “HotSpot Shield“, which “is a plugin for Windows or OS X that offers a free VPN service. There is a catch, it rather annoyingly adds a banner ad to the top of every page you visit, but at the ultimate price point of $0.”

I thought “what the hell, I ain’t got nothing to lose”. Within literally 30 seconds the application was downloaded and installed. To quickly test it I went to the Chester French video that Allicia posted and viola, not convinced I went to Hulu and viola. All is well. So! My international web surfing friends lets all rejoice as we now get to enjoy some of the luxuries our fellow Americans have been enjoying the last little while, online televison.

Source: TechCrunch

Are you planning on attending the Inauguration in Washington, DC? Look no further, I have provided a list of parties, concerts, official balls and unofficial balls.

There will be many (as in hundreds) of events including DC’s night life throughout the week but the hottest tickets in town, besides the official Inaugural Ball, will have special celebrity guest performances. The festivities kick off with Jay-z’s Inaugural Party at Love on Friday.  The biggest show will be on Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial, We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. The party will take place on Friday.  

Ready to go, fire it up!

Here’s a message from President-elect Barack Obama: Inauguration Night: Your Neighborhood Ball

Obama Inauguration Celebrities: Who, What And Where by Jake Coyle

NEW YORK — If you thought the Golden Globes was a party, just wait until you see Barack Obama’s inauguration. Next week, Washington will look a lot like a colder version of Hollywood.

Here’s a roundup of who will be where, keeping in mind that in the mad rush to D.C., schedule changes may occur.

THE BIG SHOW

_ On Sunday, tradition will be upheld with a free star-studded concert on the National Mall, starting at 2:30 p.m. Among the many performers: Bruce Springsteen, U2, Beyonce, Usher, Garth Brooks, Stevie Wonder, John Mellencamp, Shakira, Mary J. Blige, Herbie Hancock, Josh Groban, John Legend and James Taylor. Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III and Queen Latifah will read. Obama will stop by and HBO will broadcast “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial.”

WHERE’S OPRAH

_ Winfrey will host a live episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” from the Kennedy Center Opera House on Monday. She’ll also host a second episode on Wednesday. Winfrey has not announced her plans on Inauguration Day.

WHERE’S SPIKE

_ Spike Lee will appear at a daylong symposium at Howard University on Monday to discuss topics including the impact of Obama on Black America. Also there will be Rev. Al Sharpton, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., Dr. Cornel West and Dr. Henry Louis Gates. Lee will also host an after-party Tuesday evening.

OTHER CONCERTS

_ BET will hold an awards ceremony, the BET Honors, Saturday at the Warner Theater to honor Mary J. Blige, filmmaker Tyler Perry, Ervin “Magic” Johnson and others. Gabrielle Union will host and performers include Queen Latifa, Ne-Yo, Anita Baker and Joss Stone.

_ The Hip-hop Caucus will host a concert Saturday at Ibiza with Common, Mary J. Blige and Nelly.

_ Jessica Alba will host a kickoff event by youth voter initiative Declare Yourself on Sunday dubbed “A New Birth of Citizenship.” Maroon 5 and DJ Samantha Ronson will perform.

_ “Kids’ Inaugural: We Are the Future” will be held Monday night at the Verizon Center and air on the Disney Channel. Performing will be Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers and Bow Wow. Michelle Obama and Jill Biden will host with their families.

_ The “America Feels Kinda Cool Again Inaugural Gala” will feature the Beastie Boys, Sheryl Crow and Citizen Cope on Monday at the 9:30 club.

_ Jay-Z will perform a concert “In Concert on the Eve on Change” at the Warner Theater on Monday.

_ Aretha Franklin will play a free concert at the Kennedy Center with Nuttin’ But Stringz and the Let Freedom Ring Choir on Monday.

_ Manifest Hope will finish a three-day-long, Inauguration-themed art exhibit with a party featuring performances by Santogold, Moby and De La Soul.

THE OFFICIAL BALLS

_ The Neighborhood Ball: ABC will broadcast this ball for Washington residents at the Washington Convention Center. Performing will be Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Faith Hill and Mary J. Blige.

_ The Youth Ball: This ball is for people aged 18 to 35 to celebrate “the role young Americans can play to serve their communities.” After announcing and then junking a similarly themed ball, MTV will broadcast it. Fall Out Boy is among the acts attending.

_ The other eight official balls are: the Home States Ball, the Commander in Chief Ball, the Biden Home State Ball, the Mid-Atlantic Ball, the Western and Southern Regional Ball, the Midwest Regional Ball, the New England Ball and the Southern Regional Ball.

THE UNOFFICIAL BALLS

_ The “Dreams of My Father” American Scholars Inaugural Ball will take place Sunday at the Four Seasons and feature Alicia Keys, Macy Gray and LL Cool J.

_ The Voto Latino Inaugural Party will on Sunday include Marc Antony, Rosario Dawson, Tony Plana and Wilmer Valderrama.

_ The Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball will take place Monday at the Harman Center and be hosted by Russell Simmons, LL Cool J, T.I. and Young Jeezy

_ The Huffington Post Preinaugural Ball will be held Monday night at the Newseum and feature performances by Sting and will.i.am. Attendees will include Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Denzel Washington, Shakira, Jon Bon Jovi, Halle Berry and Ashton Kutcher.

_ The Green Inaugural Ball will be held Monday at the Portrait Gallery and be hosted by Al Gore.

_ Muhammad Ali will attend the Kentucky Inaugural Ball on Monday at the Marriott Wardman Hotel.

_ The nonprofit arts and entertainment advocacy group Creative Coalition will hold a gala to be headlined by Elvis Costello and Sting at the Harman Center for the Arts on Tuesday. Also attending will be Anne Hathaway, Spike Lee, Tim Robbins, Maggie Gyllenhaal and others.

_ The Purple Ball, Tuesday at the Fairmont Hotel, will be hosted by Lou Gossett Jr. and Il Divo will perform. Expected to attend are: Ashley Judd, Patricia Arquette, John Cusack, Tim Robbins, Ed Harris, Ashley Judd, Josh Lucas, Amy Brenneman, Brendan Fraser, Susan Sarandon and Lisa Marie Presley.

_ There will be two American Music Balls: The Legends Ball, hosted by Dionne Warwick and featuring Chaka Khan and George Clinton; and the Urban Ball _ hosted by Ludacris and featuring Cedric the Entertainer and Monica. Both will be held Tuesday at the Marriot Wardman Park Hotel.

_ BET will host an inaugural ball at the Mandarin Oriental hotel Tuesday. The network will broadcast an hour special to coincide with the ball, which will include a performance by Wyclef Jean.

_ The Equality Ball, hosted by the Human Rights Campaign, will be held Tuesday at the Mayflower Hotel with appearances by Cyndi Lauper, Melissa Etheridge and Rufus Wainwright.

_ The Inaugural Peace Ball, Tuesday at the Smithsonian Postal Museum, will be hosted by Harry Belafonte and include Joan Baez, Graham Nash and Jackson Brown.

_ Rihanna will perform at the Recording Industry Association of America Inaugural Ball to benefit Feeding America on Tuesday.

_ Nas, Josh Groban, Slash and Robert Randolph are among those performing at the Heroes Red, White & Blue Inaugural Ball (benefiting military families and veterans) on Tuesday at the Warner Theater

Source: Inauguration Night: Your Neighborhood Ball

The Music Television Network (MTV) launched a new website yesterday, www.mtvmusic.com (in beta version).  Is this website suppose to play full length videos, free of advertisements?  Yes, for now at least.  Users may embed and send the video’s URL to their friends as well.

Instead of airing music videos, MTV currently plays re-runs of “RW/RR Challenge: The Island” and “Paris Hilton’s New BFF“. With the launch of MTV Music, 16,000 archived videos will now be offered to music fanatics.  Does this mean that MTV will begin to run more reality shows?  I hope not.

I suspect that this may be another option for YouTube internet users to obtain access to music videos via the world wide web.  If I were MTV, I would compete with YouTube as well, considering that the music channel was the first kid to play music videos on television.  YouTube has been quite a hit with internet users, from co-hosting live Presidential Debates with CNN to battling piracy issues with MTV’s parent company, Viacom.

Check out Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” below.

The same video on YouTube was disabled for embedding on Michael Jackson’s official YouTube page.

MTV has certainly come along way from classics like “Thriller” and “Like A Virgin“.  Consequently, as time changes, technology and demographic lifestyles change as well.  The internet is an essential part of our everyday lives.  Desperate times call for desperate actions, as we are now given an alternative option to view music videos from MTV.  Yes, MTV is (finally) playing music videos!

Music Video/Picture Source: mtvmusic

Video for the new Kanye West song “Love Lockdown” was officially premiered today on the Ellen Degeneres show. This is the first single off of the upcoming album 808’s & Heartbreaks which is now scheduled to have a November 25th release date. The song first debuted at the MTV VMA’s this year, after that Kanye went back into the studio to re-do the drums and relay the vocals. After watching the video and hearing the beat over and over, this has a very Busta Rhymes “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” minus the rapping, don’t believe me? Have a look below.

Ciara appears to be naked (and HOT) on the cover of the October issue of Vibe magazine. However, the singer is reportedly suing the mag, stating that she did not pose nude and that the peeps over at Vibe airbrushed her clothes off for the cover. Now, we don’t blame ‘em, but sounds like some pretty shady stuff happenin’ over at Vibe.

According to MTV’s Newsroom, Ciara also dishes on her fame and love life. The 22-year-old has been romantically linked to 50 Cent for the past little bit, and when it comes to dating, she gives out some advice, saying, “You don’t have to sell yourself out. Take your time to get to know somebody before you involve the physical aspect… it’s just not the way to start off. It creates confusion.”

Nice advice, Ciara, but sorry, we sorta lost our concentration…

The issue hits news stands on Sept. 16.

Here’s a funny clip that I received from a fellow co-worker. It’s for the 2nd season of Human Giant, which airs on MTV. This is straight comedy with classic lines like “I’m gonna impregnate your mouth”, “I can’t believe my dick just barfed that much”, “it comes with this romantic fist attachment”…hahaha fuckin’ gold. Enjoy.