Magic Lamp

Weird shopping at Woot.com

Since this is the shopping season, I thought I’d mention a few different thing on the Web that are interesting. One I ran across a while ago is Woot.com. This is kind of like a clearing house for merchandise, as near as I can tell. At 12:00 midnight eastern, they put an item of for sale. They call this a “Woot”. Sometimes the deals are pretty good. Sometimes they’re just “ok”. For example, today’s Woot is a Dream’eo Enza 20GB Portable Media Center, which they are selling for $129. I suppose if you’re looking for something like that, that might be quite a deal. (I passed it up). Anyway, it will either sell out before the end day, or it’ll just remain there until midnight rolls around again. Then there will be a new Woot for sale.

Ever so often, they have a “Woot-Off”. A Woot-Off works basically the same way as Woot usually does, but instead of waiting until midnight for a new item to show up, they’ll put a new Woot up for sale as soon as the last item is sold out. What makes this interesting is that you can get some really good deals on things, but you have to be quick.

Sometimes during the Woot-off (and during “regular” days, for that matter) they’ll sell grab bags for one dollar each. You can buy up to three, and you’ll be charged $5 for shipping. They call these grab bags “Random Crap”. Customers on the message boards generally call them a BOC (Bag of Crap), but make up new names using those initials: Bandoleer of Carrots, Bunch of Cartoons, Barrel of Chimpanzees (etc). These things sell out VERY quickly. People post pictures of what they get on the message boards, and sometimes it’s hilarious. People have received stuffed dogs with rainbow afros, strange monkey sculptures, and beaded flag vests.

So, why do they sell out so quickly? Sometimes people get things that are a lot better than that. When I did this, I received a Thermos Pub mug & a camera bag (I think nearly everyone got those), a couple of Gel pens…. and a Geneva Elite Watch! The watch works, and from what I’ve been able to tell, it’s worth about $40 or $50. Other people have recieved a RoboSapien, a Roomba and even a 61-inch television! In fact, when those went out, two people got televisions.

Now, you don’t always get something great. Sometimes things that come are broken. Sometimes you’ll open a box that says “laptop”, only to find a broken laptop power supply. But it is “Random Crap” after all.

Woot.com definitely does not take itself seriously, and it’s worth seeing what goes on there even if you don’t buy anything.

Hurley on Late Show Tonight

Jorge Garcia (Hurley) will be on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight, delivering the Top Ten List

Lost Moving to 10 pm Eastern

Variety is reporting that ABC has decided to move Lost to 10pm Eastern, and hour later than it has been shown.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing for Lost?

X-Men’s Dave Cockrum Dies at 63

Dave Cockrum died on Sunday. Cockrum was the comic book illustrator that was created for revamping the X-Men comic back in the 1970s. He co-created characters such as Storm, Colossus, Mystique, and Nightcrawler.

PS3 vs A Chainsaw

So, someone decided to chainsaw a PS3. The question is, do they really? They talk it up, they smash the box, but they never show the PS3 itself.

After watching it, I think it’s a hoax.

So, what do you think? Did they actually destroy the PS3, or is this a hoax?

Michael Emerson talks about what it’s like to be on Lost

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin has a great article on Michael Emerson, the actor that plays Henry Gale/Benjamin Linus on Lost. It talks about his background in theater, what the differences are between being an actor on TV and an actor on stage, and how he approaches acting roles.

He also reveals a few hints about what’s coming next in Lost:

“He’s vulnerable now,” he said, referring to the trauma under Jack’s surgical knife that could lead to Ben’s demise. “There’s much more operating room drama to come; the operation has even more complications that lead to a number of crises,” he added, carefully choosing his words. New, powerful characters also will be introduced, and “there will be a struggle for power within the Others’ community.” Then he paused and smiled. “I have to be cagey about what I say.”

Via Honolulu Star-Bulletin

Dominic Monaghan’s Lost Theory

Seems that everyone has a theory about what’s really happening on LOST, including the cast itself. Charlie’s theory? Actor Dominic Monaghan thinks it’s all the work of a really, really mad billionaire that’s upset about some wrong from the past.

The writer’s of the show have already dismissed it.

Rumors of Jack’s Death on Lost

You might have been hearing the rumors about Jack getting killed off on the show next year when it returns. Are you worried about that happening?

Just to alleviate your fears, there’s a New York Post article today that talks about it. The show’s writers dismiss this completely and say that “This is the most insane rumor regarding ‘Lost’ to date”.

You can breathe again.

Read all about it in: New York Post Online Edition

LOST February Preview Moment #1

Did you watch “Day Break” on ABC last night? If not, you missed a brief “LOST moment” (as ABC is calling them) preview of the next show which will air on February 7th. You can also see these on ABC.com/lost, but you need to be an American Express card holder to view them.

In the preview, we see Desmond tackle Charlie, yelling “You don’t want to know what happened to me! You don’t want to know!”

….and that’s it. Hey, I said it was brief.

Some revised theories on what that might mean in a future post.

Creators of “24” to create a new comedy

The Creators of “24”, Joel Surnow and Bob Cochran, are in the process of creating a new comedy for ABC about paramedics. It’s set in real-time like 24, but each show is self contained.

Via TV Squad