eaplatt

So the whole tax-dodger discussion has been deleted? Not locked, not edited, but completely erased--because one or two posters acted badly? No explanation at all? This is abuse (and ham-fisted censorship) to those of us who actually replied constructively on the thread. Do our voices count for nothing? Someone like me makes a series of sound arguments, and all one wrecker has to do is get on the boards and raise a stink and presto! Everyone gets their words snuffed out. Which I'm sure saved him having to do much work on defending his arguments. I understand that there's a need for mo

I'm too broke to be adventurous these days, but there's still plenty to do. I work full time, and college starts up again in August, so between now and then, I intend to cram down a lot of reading, as well as brush up a bit on some languages. Crunch time is coming with school; I have to nail the last few credits I need to transfer, and prepare applications for four-year schools (not that I expect any of them to take me, honestly). On top of all that, I'm still DJing with the KUSF crew, now that we're in "exile" and fighting the sale of the station before the FCC. I'm back to DJing on grav

Well, we can't fault McGuinness for being honest there. Mind you, he just cost U2 a big chunk of their fanbase, but seeing as how they've been hellbent on destroying their fanbase in recent years, maybe this is all part of some grand scheme? "Cash grab" it is - and I won't be buying it, just like I refuse(d) to buy all the other overpriced "deluxe" U2 re-releases that have been pumped out over the years. To judge from the sales figures I've seen, I have a lot of company. All the other re-issues have apparently sold poorly; even supposedly "limited edition" versions are

And the problem with heavy hydration is then you want to pee--a bit of a problem for fans with GA tickets. Of course, experience has taught me that if you stay put on the field long enough, any urge to go wee will slowly fade, the longer you stay put. This, of course, means you're slowly dehydrating. Big fun! Yes, adding heat and/or humidity to the mix can't be good. Most venue have their concessions contracts locked in, but good, and there isn't much that a band on tour can do to change things (if they even notice). I know a lot of venues try to argue that their ban on all t

Oh, hmmm...was almost going to finally hammer together a list, but I'm a bit tired tonight. So, leave it at this: I first saw U2 in 1981, and the Oakland show earlier this month was either U2 show #54 or #55, so, yes, lots of shows in the years between. I really should put together a master list someday, so I can keep my dates and numbers straight! --

PS: I got a nosebleed this morning, just from getting out of bed. Sensitive! If I had had a "bleeder" seat way up on top of "Mt. Davis" at the Oakland Coliseum, my head probably would have exploded. --

A bad GA spot beats any nosebleed seat any day. I had GA for the Oakland show. Didn't get there at the crack of dawn; didn't get down onto the field until the first band started to play! Got a spot on the rail that separated us peasants from the "Red" VIP zone, so had a pretty good view of the stage (from the side) for the show. I didn't feel the need to suffer for hours to get into the inner circle--by now, if U2 haven't grasped the fact that I'm a fan, getting 'inner' won't do anything to convince them, y'know--and I didn't want to get squished by trying to be front-and-center, eit

80 bucks for six things? Sounds about right for the store also known as Whole Paycheck. Sorry, looks like your link is busted, but you can still find it on Youtube OK.

So, hmmm, I guess being a super-duper U2 fan means a person can't be employed, or in school, or live in the hinterlands, or have dependents, or (*shudder*) have something resembling a 'life.' I mean, there were fans camping on the BART bridge a full day before the show, in bad weather. How far do we let some people push the super-duper fan syndrome, to the point of excluding anyone who isn't equally nuts? Also, why blame the obvious blunders of the local organizers (both Live Nation and the County agencies) on the fans themselves? What sort of music fan springs to the defens

Tags: None [From the San Jose Mercury News online edition] Oakland Coliseum operator defends planning leading up to U2 concert By Angela Woodall Oakland Tribune Posted: 06/17/2011 12:00:00 AM PDT In July 2010, an Alameda County grand jury stepped up criticism over operations at the municipally owned sports and entertainment complex in Oakland, now called O.co Coliseum. Jurors issued a troubling list of lingering concerns over the "fragmented, uncertain and unclear" oversight exerted by the Coliseum Authority, an eight-person board o

[From the San Jose Mercury News online edition] Oakland Coliseum operator defends planning leading up to U2 concert By Angela WoodallOakland Tribune Posted: 06/17/2011 12:00:00 AM PDT In July 2010, an Alameda County grand jury stepped up criticism over operations at the municipally owned sports and entertainment complex in Oakland, now called O.co Coliseum. Jurors issued a troubling list of lingering concerns over the "fragmented, uncertain and unclear" oversight exerted by the Coliseum Authority, an eight-person board of commissioners. Management improved incremen

...and that's Muni we're talking about here, which is a transit system where "on time" is only a theory. But I've seen many times where BART and Muni work together to get BART riders quickly transferred to the Muni train to the ballpark: fare gates open, conductors out with transfers and information, and so on. On game day, there's always some number of cops out to direct street traffic. I guess the moral of the story is, professional sports carry more weight with the powers-that-be (and the transit unions), and you can bet that if someone was as slovenly about transit/traffic at the SF

I stood on the corner and sold drugs. OK, really, I work in a pharmacy, so I do sell drugs--legally. If I say it the first way, it makes people pay more attention. I work on weekends, so not much more done than other work days. Free time on the computer or reading--a bit more reading than a typical weekend, even, since the new roommate accidentally knocked us offline for a day or so. Reading on paleography (again), would love to get a degree in manuscript studies, would probably be just as unemployable then as I am now, but so what? Interesting stuff. -- eaplatt

It doesn't hurt to vent about it, though I don't think there's any grounds for a lawsuit of any sort--not that it doesn't hurt to rattle the sabres at Live Nation (et al) a bit. Might keep them on their toes. Maybe. You'd think that Live Nation would pay more attention to this sort of thing, nowadays not so much for fear of having another Who-at-Cincinnati tragedy occur, but just because it's good for business. LN is always poor-mouthing to the media, bemoaning the fact that 40% of concert tickets go unsold, etc. So why make concerts such a hassle? And the bigger the concert, the

It doesn't hurt to vent about it, though I don't think there's any grounds for a lawsuit of any sort--not that it doesn't hurt to rattle the sabres at Live Nation (et al) a bit. Might keep them on their toes. Maybe. You'd think that Live Nation would pay more attention to this sort of thing, nowadays not so much for fear of having another Who-at-Cincinnati tragedy occur, but just because it's good for business. LN is always poor-mouthing to the media, bemoaning the fact that 40% of concert tickets go unsold, etc. So why make concerts such a hassle? And the bigger the concert, the