Let me start by saying that I LOVE Michael Jackson's music. I'm a big fan of both his solo career and the Jackson 5 and we obviously lost a living legend yesterday. With that said, I have to share 2 great comments I received today regarding Michael Jackson's death:
Unnamed source: "When Farrah Fawcet arrived in heaven god granted her one wish. She wished that all the children on earth would be safe. So God killed Michael Jackson."
Crazy Carl: "let me tell you... you have to be a special person to probably be a child molester....and that not be the first or second sentence in your obituary"
6/26/09
RIP Michael Jackson...BurnTees style
6/23/09
Jon & Kate - Where do they go from here?
We're all very concerned about Jon & Kate Gosselin and where they'll go from here. Divorce isn't easy especially when you have tons of money from exploiting your children. Thank goodness they were able to get one last very expensive freebie before everything came crashing down (Crooked Houses must LOVE the fact that their product was featured on probably the most watched episode ever).
Crazy Carl thinks that from now on, the show should focus on Jon one week and Kate the next week and in each episode they're dating different celebrities. Like one week Kate is dating Lebron James, the next week Jon is dating Megan fox. As Crazy Carl put it, "I mean, what is a divorce really if its not the chance for a spinoff?" Very well said Carl.
My wife and I were wondering last night and we both agreed that Kate probably won't let Jon see a DIME of the money, especially the money she's made from the books. However, Jon looks like he couldn't care less as long as he's no longer married to the nutbag. Seems like a win win to me!
Guess we'll all have to wait and see how this plays out!
6/19/09
Fox caught with its pants down on ABC attacks
Originally found here: http://www.dailykostv.com/w/001852/
I love when stuff like this happens - very Daily Show'esque. Fox News - NOW can we stop taking you seriously?
As Think Progress noted, despite Fox’s whining about ABC’s upcoming special on health care reform which will include a town hall conducted in the White House, it turns out that when George W. Bush was President, Fox did exactly what they are accusing ABC of.
Here’s a video mashup of what Fox is saying now — and what it reported then, including footage from its fawning specials on both Bush and Cheney.
6/10/09
Into The Presence
Go check out Into The Presence - their self titles debut album is awesome:
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/intothepresence
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/intothepresence
and follow them on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/intothepresence
5/29/09
I've Been A Bad Boy - But we have new New Jersey t-shirts!
I've completely ignored this blog for a while...and I'm sorry. Been super busy with work, creating t-shirts and getting married and blah blah blah, excuses excuses excuses right?
So, just in time for summer BurnTees has release a whole line of new New Jersey shore t-shirts which you can check out at the Dirty New Jersey section of BurnTees.com. AND we also have a whole bunch of new shirt styles to choose from. New American Apparel organic tees, dark organic tees and more, so go check out BurnTees now!!!!
Check out some of the new designs below!
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3/20/09
Twitter - A Guide for Musicians and Bands
My last post was a pretty in depth look at how musicians and bands can help themselves with twitter. However, it was pointed out to me numerous times that apparently most bands have A.D.D. and I'll need to make this shorter if they're actually going to read it. So, here's pretty much the same How-To Twitter for Bands and Musicians guide in a nice, short, bullet point format:
Twitter for Bands (follow me at @burntees)
· Update your status in 140 characters or less (what are you doing?)
· Make sure your profile is set up with a link to your website, a short bio and a picture
· Make sure to engage with your audience by replying to users (@username to reply) – don’t just post Facebook type status updates all the time.
· Ideas on what to write:
o Anything and everything – fans want to feel connected to the artist and feel like they’re getting an inside look at their lives.
o Updates from the studio when recording
o Updates on the manufacturing process
o Reminders about shows and other band news
o Links to press, pictures, videos, music streams, etc
o Don’t always try to be selling or pushing something. It’s ok to say “new album available on itunes here (with a link), but that should be a small % of your posts.
· How do you get followers?
o Start at http://www.search.twitter.com and search your band name to find fans talking about you.
o Add links and twitter buttons to your MySpace, YouTube, and other websites
o Follow people you’re interested in; there’s a good chance they’ll follow you back
o Best way to get followers is to just engage and interact with other users
· Tools to make twittering easier/better
o For windows desktop: http://www.tweetdeck.com/beta/
o www.Digsby.com – allows you to integrate all your instant messaging platforms with twitter & facebook
o For blackberry: TwitterBerry (http://www.orangatame.com/products/twitterberry/)
o Cell Phone: text twitter updates to 40404 and they’ll automatically post to your profile (you have to go to your account settings first and set up your mobile info first). You won’t be able to see replies or other people’s tweets thru here but at least you can post when you’re not in front of a computer.
o For iPhone: Tweetie (here’s a link to some others: http://theappleblog.com/2008/12/03/12-twitter-apps-for-the-iphone/)
o http://twitpic.com/ - allows you to easily post pictures to twitter
o Use these links to see more twitter applications (there are also widgets you can use to easily integrate twitter with your website): http://twitter.com/downloads & http://twitter.pbwiki.com/Apps
· Good examples to follow of other musicians/bands on twitter:
o http://www.Twitter.com/davebarnesmusic
o http://www.Twitter.com/davejmatthews
o http://www.Twitter.com/snoopdogg
o http://www.Twitter.com/matisyahu
o John Mayer: http://twitter.com/johncmayer/
3/16/09
A Quick Twitter How-To Guide for Musicians and Bands
1) What is Twitter and what should I be doing with it?
The Basics:
Check out this YouTube video – Twitter in Plain English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o
Twitter asks you to update your page with what you’re doing in 140 characters or less
If you want to reply to someone, you type @username and then write your message. That person will see in their replies section that someone is writing to them. To see who is writing directly to you, you can check your replies section. You can also send a private message to someone by sending them a direct message. You can only direct message someone who you are following and who is following you back and that message can only be seen by that person. It isn’t public unlike all other posts on twitter.
Twitter is a tool that artists can use to engage with their fans. Fans are looking for a way to feel connected to artists and twitter can provide that inside look into an artist’s life that the fan may be looking for. Although it may seem odd, people want to hear things such as “going to the gym” just as much as they want to hear “in the studio right now, just finished recording an amazing new song for the new album”. What’s most important is that people know that it’s really you that they’re hearing from, not a manager or an intern at the label, but that what they’re reading is coming from the artist themselves.
It’s also important to remember to not constantly spam your audience with something you’re trying to sell. People can “un-follow” you just as quickly as they can follow you. It’s ok to say “hey, our new album just came out, here’s a link” but that can’t be all you do. If anything, it should be a very small percentage of what you’re twittering about on a normal basis.
Lastly, when you look at your twitter page, is it filled with just announcements? Or are there a lot of @ replies to other people? Hopefully you have a mix of both. Twitter is different from other platforms in that it allows you to interact and engage with fans in a setting that more resembles an open chat room rather than a one way conversation. If a fan writes something to you and you respond directly to that person, it can be a very powerful thing for the fan knowing that they’re actually talking with an artist.
Some things you can twitter about to keep fans interesting:
- Anything and everything – fans want to feel connected to the artist and feel like they’re getting an inside look at their lives.
- Updates from the studio when recording
- Updates on the manufacturing process
- Reminders about shows and other band news
- Links to press, pictures, videos, music streams, etc
-
- Some good examples to use as a guide – it would be a good idea to follow these musicians and see how they use twitter.
o http://www.Twitter.com/davebarnesmusic
o http://www.Twitter.com/davejmatthews
o http://www.Twitter.com/snoopdogg
o http://www.Twitter.com/matisyahu
o http://www.Twitter.com/dave_grohl
2) How do you get followers?
It’s important to remember that it’s not JUST about how many followers you can get. 100,000 followers who don’t care what you’re saying won’t do anything. It’s a lot more important and a lot more powerful to have 1,000 followers who read every post and who care about what you’re saying.
Use the “find people” link at the top of the twitter page to search for friends. You can also use the “find on other networks” tab to search for contacts thru gmail, yahoo, aol and hotmail. The “suggested users” tab also provides a few people that twitter thinks are interesting to follow and usually creates a good starting point.
Add links and “follow me” buttons on your MySpace, Facebook and other web pages.
Another great place to start is on search.twitter.com. Enter in your band’s name (you can use quotes – for example, “All That Remains” as opposed to just searching All That Remains) and you can quickly see different people talking about your band. These are your fans and this is your target audience. These are the people who want to connect with you. You can start by following these people and responding to some of the things they’re saying. If someone posted “saw Dead Confederate last night, awesome show”, there’s no reason you can’t directly respond to that person saying “thanks for coming we had an awesome time playing for you guys”. You just gained a follower, engaged with a fan and chances are, that fan will help to spread the word that you’re now on twitter.
It’s also helpful to follow people that you’re interested in. Most people get a notification that a new person is following them and they’ll usually click on the person’s profile to see who they are and they’ll decide if they want to follow that person back. If they look on your page and see that you’re posting, interacting and creating value, it’ll give them more reason to follow you back. So if there’s someone you’d like to have follow you, following them is often a good place to start.
One of the best ways to get followers is just by interacting with other users and engaging in conversation. If user A is talking with user B, people who follow user A are likely to click on user B’s profile and see who that person is talking to. “Well if Dave Grohl is following him and talking with him, maybe I want to follow him too”.
3) What tools can I use to make using twitter easier?
One of the best parts about using twitter are the tools that make it easy to use. You can post and use twitter directly from the website (www.twitter.com) or you can use your cell phone, blackberry or iPhone. Below are some popular apps:
For windows desktop: http://www.tweetdeck.com/beta/
www.Digsby.com – allows you to integrate all your instant messaging platforms with twitter & facebook
For blackberry: TwitterBerry (http://www.orangatame.com/products/twitterberry/)
Cell Phone: text twitter updates to 40404 and they’ll automatically post to your profile (you have to go to your account settings first and set up your mobile info first). You won’t be able to see replies or other people’s tweets thru here but at least you can post when you’re not in front of a computer.
For iPhone: Tweetie (here’s a link to some others: http://theappleblog.com/2008/12/03/12-twitter-apps-for-the-iphone/)
Use these links to see more twitter applications (there are also widgets you can use to easily integrate twitter with your website): http://twitter.com/downloads & http://twitter.pbwiki.com/Apps
Other interesting/useful articles and links:
http://www.bob-baker.com/twitter/music-promotion.html
http://arielpublicity.com/blog/archives/musicians-twitter-roadmap3
Artists and other music industry people on Twitter: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=phtgMLGe8aahYaH0pRs7VHg&gid=0 (use the links on top to see artist, record labels, bloggers and more)
(follow me on twitter @BurnTees)
3/10/09
Unemployed? These 10 Websites Should Be Your Best Friends
We found a battery of new sites and services--such as LinkedIn JobsInsider, Recessionwire, and Uberi.com--dedicated to providing the kind of cost-cutting, job-search, and moral-support tools that can be invaluable during lean times.
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3/3/09
A.J. Jacobs: My year of living biblically
I really enjoyed both of his books (The Year of Living Biblically
2/13/09
Download "Let's Get It On" For FREE Today Only!
As a special Valentine's Day treat, AmazonMP3 is giving away Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" for FREE today on Amazon! Click the banner below to download your copy now!
2/11/09
CafePress vs Zazzle Website Traffic
I was doing some research on Alexa.com and decided to see what's new in the CafePress vs Zazzle battle. I was kind of surprised to see what the website traffic picture looks like these days. While Zazzle isn't doing all that much climbing, the two seem to be headed for a neck and neck race since CafePress's traffic is obviously on the decline. What this means? I'm not 100% sure. what I'm more interested in is why CP's traffic seems to be tanking over the last few months?
2/10/09
Bush Administration paid $254 billion for stock worth $176 billion
Treasury officials had the temerity to tell Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren, chairwoman of the bailout oversight panel -- by the way, her excellent 2003 book "The Two-Income Trap" predicted a national financial meltdown caused by bad mortgages -- the mistake isn't quite as bad as it sounds because the stocks purchased have returned $271 million in dividends to taxpayers. So we threw $78 billion out the window but $271 million (three-tenths of 1 percent) blew back! In contemporary Washington, this is viewed as driving a hard bargain. How is this not front page news everywhere?! I'm tired of the government having NO oversight on spending. For once Crazy Carl actually has what I think is a great idea (from an actual IM) Crazy Carl: why don't we have a law that would be like the drug seizure law. Crazy Carl: if you're a Senate Aide, and you discover waste on that level, before it occurs, you get 1% of the money that would have been wasted. Crazy Carl: or a presidential aide, etc. Crazy Carl: a) you would attract good smart people to government, and the government would save trillions. Crazy Carli: i'd rat my boss out for 1% of 87 billion dollars. Carl Gucciardi: which, by the way, is 870 million dollars. Crazy Carl: isn't it worth paying someone 870 million dollars if it will save taxpayers 86 billion dollars?From TMQ's new article: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/090210#creepTMQ Hats on Sale for $78 Billion, Treasury Department Said To Be Interested: The George W. Bush administration was so incredibly careless with your money that, according to this report to the Senate Banking Committee, it paid $254 billion this past autumn for bank stock worth $176 billion on the dates of purchase. Seventy-eight billion dollars wasted! Why isn't this on the front page of every newspaper in America? If you made a workplace decision that wasted several thousand dollars, you'd be in hot water -- yet Bush administration White House and Treasury Department officials wasted $78 billion without consequences or accountability. That amount would have been more than sufficient to create universal health care for a year. Instead the money was forcibly removed from your pockets and transferred to the rich of Wall Street and the banking world (buying stock at more than market value effectively is a gift to the firms). Your children will be paying for this and similar irresponsible use of public funds for their entire working lives.
2/7/09
Customizable St. Patrick's Day Shirts!
Now for the first time ever, BurnTees is proud to present customizable St. Patrick's Day shirts. Instead of having to email us for your customized shirt, you can create it yourself and order it directly from the site. Click any design below to check it out for yourself!
![I Clover [Enter Your Text] t-shirts](http://rlv.zcache.com/i_clover_enter_your_text_shirt-p235790696515367188q0un_210.jpg "I Clover [Enter Your Text] t-shirts by burntees")
2/6/09
BurnTees now has over 1,000 St. Patrick's Day Designs to Choose from!
You Can't Drink All Day If You Don't Start in the
You Can't Drink All Day If You Don't start in the morning. The perfect tee for St. Patty's Day.
Let's Get Ready To Stumble
Let's Get Ready To Stumble. The perfect t shirt to get the party started on St. Patrick's Day.
Irish Girl The Best Drinking Buddy A Guy Could Hav
This Irish Girl The Best Drinking Buddy a Guy Could Have t shirt is the perfect Irish tee for all the ladies.
Irish Today, Hungover Tomorrow
Everyone can relate to this St. Pat's day t shirt because on St. Patrick's Day, everyone's drinking and then hungover the next day.
Everyone Loves an Irish Boy
Show your Irish pride on St. Patty's Day with this Everyone Loves An Irish Boy tee.
I'm Irish Wanna Fight?
I'm Irish Wanna Fight green St. Pattie's Day tee with awesome little leprechaun on it.
Rock On Leprechaun
This Rock On Leprechaun St. Patrick's Day Irish tee is perfect for kids and adults.
I'm Irish Believe You Me
People doubting your Irishness? Then this I'm Irish Believe You Me design is perfect for you.
Irish You Would Kiss Me
This Irish You Would Kiss Me St. Patrick's Day shirt is the ideal shirt for anyone looking to get any on St. Patties Day.
Irish I Wasn't So Drunk
This Irish I Wasn't So Drunk tee is great for everyone to wear later in the day on St. Patrick's Day.
Irish I Was Drunk
A great St. Paddy's Day tee for when you first wake up! Later you'll have your Irish I Wasn't So Drunk tee on though.
Irish You'd Buy Me a Beer
Everyone loves free beer on St. Patties day and hopefully this Irish You'd Buy Me a Beer t-shirt will help you out!
Kiss Me I'm Drunk with Clover
A tee shirt with a simple and straightforward request for St. Patrick's Day. Kiss Me I'm Drunk (but not passed out yet!)
Happy St. Patrick's Day
The perfect simple t shirt for kids and adults this St. Patrick's Day. Happy St. Patrick's Day with four leaf clovers.
100% Irish 100% Wasted
Make 100% of your family proud this St. Patrick's day with this 100% Irish 100% Wasted t shirt.
75% Irish 100% Wasted
Make 3/4 of your family proud this St. Pat's day with this 75% Irish 100% Wasted t shirt.
50% Irish 100% Wasted
Make 1/2 of your family proud this St. Pat's day with this 50% Irish 100% Wasted t shirt.
25% Irish 100% Wasted
Make 1/4th of your family proud this St. Pat's day with this 25% Irish 100% Wasted t shirt.
Ireland is for Livers
Ireland is for Lovers? No. Ireland is for Livers! Original irish t shirt for all our irish fans.
Irish For a Day
St. Patrick's Day t shirt for all us non Irish folks out there who love to celebrate St. Patties day.
IRISH I Would Remember This Tomorrow
Everyone can relate to this St. Patrick's Day t shirt. IRISH I Would Remember This Tomorrow!
Irish In Training
Cute St. Patrick's Day t shirt for kids and adults alike. Irish in Training with funny leprechaun head.
IRISH My Girlfriend was Irish
A great St. Patrick's Day t-shirt for all you guys out there who wish you had an Irish girlfriend!
Irish My Boyfriend was Irish
Wish you had an Irish boyfriend? Then this Irish My Boyfriend was Irish tee is perfect for you!
Today Is the Only Day I Admit I'm Irish
A great St. Patties day tee for all of our friends out there who are actually Irish.
Drink Until You're Green
A great St. Patrick's day tee for all you drinkers out there. Drink Until You're Green!
Where's the Kosher Corned Beef?
Another shirt with a funny Irish/Jewish twist. Where's the Kosher Corned Beef t shirt design.
IRISH My Girlfriend was Jewish
This IRISH my girlfriend was Jewish St. Patty's day tee is perfect for all you nice Jewish boys.
Irish My Boyfriend was Jewish
The perfect Irish tee and St. Patrick's t-shirt for all you nice Jewish girls out there.
Green is so last St. Patrick's Day
The perfect St. Patrick's Day shirt if you have a little attitude.
Who's Your Paddy
Green Who's Your Paddy St. Patties day tee with funny looking Irish guy on the t shirt. (It's funny cause it sounds like Who's Your Daddy.)
Irish Drinking Team
If you didn't know, Ireland has a drinking team, and this St. Patrick's Day, if you're wearing this t shirt, you're on the Irish Drinking Team. Good luck and go Irish!
Dublin Up
We know people copy this design, but this is the original. Awesome Irish Dublin Up T shirt perfect for St. Patrick's Day. If you've got two hands, then you can hold two beers on St. Pat's Day.
Drink Until You're Irish
Great green t-shirt design perfect for St. Patrick's Day. Happy St. Patrick's Day design with fun Irish looking lads with beers and Drink Until You're Irish green text on the bottom.
Kiss Me I'm Irish
It's St. Patties Day, you're Irish, you're wearing this great Kiss Me I'm Irish St. Paddys Day shirt, and dammit you want to be kissed!
Blow Me I'm Irish
This morning when I wasn't as drunk, my shirt said Kiss Me I'm Irish, but now that I've been drinking all day, I've changed it to Blow Me I'm Irish.
I'm Drunk
A simple, straight to the point St. Patrick's Day t shirt. It's St. Patrick's Day and I'm Drunk. Thank you.
Erin go braugh-less
Instead of the boring Irish saying, for St. Pats you should be more fun! Green Erin Go Braugh-less t shirt design perfect for St Patricks Day.
Mooning Leprechaun
Hey, It's St. Patrick's Day and this is my mooning leprechaun. See him on my awesome St Patties day tee?!
Made in Ireland
This is BurnTees and we're Jersey boys so we had to have an Irish/New Jersey St. Patrick's Day tee shirt and this is it! Made In Ireland, Live In Jersey.
Drinking Buddy
On most nights you need a wingman, but on St. Patties day all you need is a Drinking Buddy. If you're the drinking buddy on St. Patrick's Day then this tee shirt is perfect for you.
Sorry I'm a Little Drunk
We know you're drunk and you're bound to do some stupid stuff on St. Patrick's Day, so apologize in advance with this Sorry I'm a Little Drunk t shirt perfect for St. Pats Day.
New Jersey 4 Leaf Clover
This New Jersey 4 Leaf Clover design is perfect for St. Patrick's Day in NY.
New York St. Patrick's Day 2008
New York St. Patrick's Day 2008 four leaf clover tee shirt, perfect for anyone celebrating in New York, NY this year.
Hoboken St. Pattys Day 2008
Hoboken St. Patrick's Day 2008 tee shirt, perfect for anyone celebrating in Hoboken, NJ this year. We know we'll be there!
Morristown St. Patrick's Day 2008
Morristown St. Patrick's Day 2008 four leaf clover tee shirt, perfect for anyone celebrating in Morristown NJ this year.
Seaside St. Patrick's Day 2008
The perfect t shirt if you're celebrating St. Patrick's Day down the shore this year.
Belmar St. Pattys Day 2008
Celebrate Belmar's St. Patrick's Day in style this year with this great Belmar 2008 four leaf clover design.
I Love New Jersey
I Love NJ design with a four leaf clover instead of a heart. Perfect for St. Patrick's Day
Even More St. Patrick's Day Shirts!!!
This section has even more St. Patty's Day tees by our featured partners. If you're looking for St. Paddy's Day shirts, you'll find them here.
10 Songs That Rocked The Digital Music World
usic is more popular than it’s ever been, but the models for distributing and promoting it have changed radically. Fans are getting huge amounts of music directly from the web (legally and illegally), artists are becoming stars without ever having to deal with the labels, and entirely new platforms, from ringtones to videogames, are helping........
read more | digg story
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