How To Watch TV Without A TV

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If you are like me, you don’t own a television set and you need to get a job. Scrapping that TV set of yours can save space in your home and give the universe one less way to waste your time. However, sometimes you just need to watch yourself some TV. And of course, you can always watch your favorite shows online – such as Lost, Brothers & Sisters, Pushing Daisies, Jericho, ANTM, Project Runway (okay so these are all my favorite shows, but they are GREAT). Here are some great places to catch full-length episodes:

ABC – This is the best place to watch TV online. It’s streaming, you have your choice of 3 sizes (including fullscreen), minimal commercial breaks, and they even have STREAMING HD!

CBS – I only catch Jericho on this site. Skeet Ulrich, really?? That’s beside the point. They have a decent player, but it’s only one size (boo). Good quality, tho!

NBC – I only watch Heroes on this site, but I like my viewing experience here. Good quality video and the ability to easily navigate within episodes (good for people like me who don’t pay attention very well and have to re-watch parts of a show 4 times to know what the hell is going on).

CWTV – This is where I watch America’s Next Top Model, but I usually catch it on youtube WAY before this site is able to put up the current episode. It takes them like a week to get an episode up. BOO.

Youtube – Well, it’s youtube. What can I say? It’s grand. This is where I watch ANTM and Project Runway. I just wish the overall video quality was better because I have a hard time judging the model photos and the designer clothes.

But Eric M Chicago, what if you just can’t wait an extra day to see Lost or Extreme Home Makeover?

Well now hoss, that’s something I’ve been checking out lately. So far I have found two sites that stream live network TV. The only kind-of drawback: It’s coming out of Utah, so for people like me in Chicago I have a 3-hour delay. But you know what? If that means I have to watch Lost at 11pm instead of 8pm I’m okay with it. Check these streams out:

CLICK HERE TO WATCH LIVE ABC

CLICK HERE TO WATCH LIVE NBC

So don’t worry about saving your money for a TV set – These are some great ways to watch TV without a TV!

Written on February 29th, 2008 , Home & Art, Wasting Time Tags: , , , , ,
Manji & Me

Manji

This is my cat, Manji. He’s sleeping, as usual, and he’ll be 5 years old this spring. He’s enormous. In fact, I think he may be the biggest housecat in the world. And he’s heavier than a toddler. It’s hard to imagine he was a tiny little fluffball once! I adopted him in Ohio on May 5 2003 from my crazy ballet instructor. She was an animal rights activist and had this very dangerous habit of bringing in the various strays she picked up off the street and letting them run around the ballet floor while we worked. One day I came in and saw this gigantic puffball of fur jumping around the room. During our exercises the thing would chase us around the floor and leap around the room with us, and then stare at you with these HUGE eyes. He was the most playful thing I’d ever seen! At that time I didn’t have any pets, and had no intention of getting a pet anytime soon, but for some reason I walked into her office immediately after class and said “I’ll take him home with me right now.” On the way home I stopped and purchased cat supplies and cat toys and got him set up at my place. He immediately got attached to this stupid stick I bought with a little pink feather boa on the end of it. He LOVED that thing. He would drag it with him into every room he went to and would play with it constantly – and you never, NEVER took it from him. He would ATTACK you. Ha! I love kittens.

Ever since then it’s been one perfect match! He’s a bit lazier now, but he’s still as cute to me as he was the day I adopted him. I love you Manji!

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Manji & Daddy in the summer of 2003

Written on February 29th, 2008 , Cats Tags: , ,
Every Good Rockstar Enjoys Free Movies

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CLICK HERE TO GO TO WATCH-MOVIES.NET

I have been checking out free online movie sites recently. These are sites dedicated to bringing you streaming movies for FREE that you can watch in your web browser. Usually they link to YouTube-type sites hosted in other countries, so it’s not necessarily illegal. Hmm… Anyway, after checking out many sites I found what I consider to be the best. It’s called Watch-Movies.net. You can watch pretty much ANY movie you want, online and streaming. No downloads needed, no signing up for anything, no cost, no nothing! And I’m not only talking about some movies – I’m talking almost ANY movie you could want to watch, including new releases that are only in theaters! Just search for your favorite movie and play it instantly! Couldn’t you just die?!

This is great for people who travel a lot with their laptops and want to watch a movie on a whim, or for those who can’t make it out to the cinemas. You can even pre-load the films in the airport, then watch the movie on your flight!

This site gets Gold Star!Gold Star!Gold Star!Gold Star!Gold Star!

Five rockstars!

I’ve watched movies such as Cloverfield, Schindler’s List, Gangs of New York, and Jumper. The quality of each movie varies, but you get more than your money’s worth! :)

Written on February 29th, 2008 , General, Wasting Time Tags: , , , , , ,
Heath Ledger
Heath Ledger

Heath Andrew Ledger (April 4, 1979 – January 22, 2008)

You were the most promising young male actor I have seen yet in my lifetime. There is no other young male actor that I hold above you, and I respected you greatly. I feel an absolute hole in my heart now that you are gone, which is weird because I was never a crazy fanatical follower of yours. I just knew your work and thought it was absolutely spectacular. You were a meticulous actor and blended strength with vulnerability in a way I have rarely seen. You serve to be an artistic role model and inspiration for me. So thank you, Heath, and good luck with your career if it turns out there’s a Hollywood in Heaven.

Written on February 24th, 2008 , Acting Tags: ,
These Are a Few of My Favorite Meals…

Taco Bell

I strive to be simple. A simple life is a good life, as far as I’m concerned. And I am about as simple as it gets when it comes to my taste buds. I know what I like and I like what I know. One of my favorite meals in the world: A beer and pizza rolls with ranch dressing. I don’t need nutrients. I don’t need pretty food. I don’t need healthy food, or even fresh food. I need a beer and pizza rolls. And I don’t even need fancy beer at that. Miller Lite. No, I don’t need a bottle. Give me a can. Give me a can of Miller Lite and some pizza rolls with ranch dressing.

Or give me taco bell and a sprite. That’ll do the trick for me. 3 crunchy tacos, a burrito supreme (no tomatoes, no onions), hot sauce and a sprite will make me the happiest man in the world. I am NOT kidding. I’ll take it over sex any day of the week.

Kraft macaroni & cheese. The kind with powdered cheese that comes in a box. That’s the only kind I will eat. I like it soupy, with about a 1/4 cup more milk than is asked for in the recipe. And fat free skim milk is the best for this tasty treat. The butter has to be just right, no more and no less than the recipe please.

Buffalo Wings. I could eat an entire buffet of buffalo wings. With tons of celery and ranch dressing instead of bleu cheese.

Hot, freshly iced chocolate cake with chocolate icing and a tall frosty glass of fat free skim milk.

Warm chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven, just underbaked so they’re SOFT, with a big glass of fat free skim milk.

A steak, medium to medium well and real juicy, with a twice baked potato and asparagus. A la Joey’s Brickhouse 14-inch skirt steak special. But be careful: You buy me this, and you’ll be buying me breakfast too ;)

Those are a few of my favorite meals.

Written on February 24th, 2008 , General
To Go or Not To Go, That is the $20,000 Question
Boystown Chicago

I have no desire to date, hook up with, flirt with, wink at, or do anything else “with,” “at,” or “on” anyone. So why do I feel this propensity to visit the infamous Boystown Strip (Halsted St between Belmont and Addison)? That may be the $20,000 question. Is it an instinctive tug that all gay men feel on Saturday night? Is it my calling? I doubt it.

I like to be around a lot of people having fun. I like to be around all those possibilities and opportunities, even if they’re not mine. I like to be surrounded by the general sense of optimism and expectation you can feel surging through the air. Friday nights on the strip have a little too much expectation and pent up frustration from the workweek if you ask me. Saturday nights are a little more carefree, you know? Even if I’m not out shopping for anything it still lets me enjoy the atmosphere of the whole experience. Of course, I have to take one or two friends with me (preferably ones that aren’t shopping either) and do the half-assed “ok yea, sure I’ll make out with him. WHATEVER.” and the beer-vodka-slushie goggled “well I think he’s hot… he’s totally hot. No, I don’t have my beer-goggles on. I DON’T. Wait, here he comes. Ok, I have beer-goggles on. WHATEVER.”

I mostly love to people watch, though. And drunkenly laugh my ASS off with my friends (because when I get drunk I think EVERYTHING is funny and I love EVERYONE). I love to be surrounded by people. I just love it. I love having hot friends and not having to deal with sexual tension. The gay ones are rare to find but true gems when you find them.

I do love to meet new people when I’m drunk, though. LOVE it. I especially love to meet beautiful people. Not so much when I’m sober, but you’ll soon notice that I’m sort of a difference-between-day-and-night drunk. Which also explains why, when I’m drunk, I love to dance.

So, tonight’s $20,000 question is: Will Eric go to the strip tonight?

We’ll see. It depends on if I can find friends to go have some hammered fun with that either don’t mind going to Boystown and/or don’t mind the fact that I’m not going there with the unified intention of getting laid. I honestly wish there were less people in BTown trying to get laid and more people just wanting to have a good time. And if you think my perception is off, just go and check it out.

I think I might. Maybe.

Written on February 23rd, 2008 , Drunken Debauchery Tags: , , , ,
My Dream Bedroom

Just so you can get to know me a little bit better, I present to you my dream bedroom:

Sixth Street Collection by Pulaski

The furniture set is called the Sixth Street Collection by Pulaski, but I actually love everything about this photograph. I think it has the perfect blend of a modern and a classic feel. My perfect bedroom has to have the ability to be a dark, soft cavern at night and a bright, renewing sanctuary with the morning light. Perfect! It also has the exact balance of symmetry and asymmetry for my taste. The flowers on the dresser almost look English to me, and I think they help to soften the room up a bit. I love the brick walls and the contrast of the whites and browns, with the yellow highlights coming from the lamps. Beautiful colors. Just beautiful. I love that the rug is almost a shag, but not as messy. And don’t even get me started on the GORGEOUS wood! The high ceilings really seal the deal for me though. High ceilings are a MUST :P

This bedroom is perfect for me.

Written on February 22nd, 2008 , Home & Art Tags: ,

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Eric M Chicago

Jameson.