An oligopoly coming to a telecomms market near you

If you're Cdn and you haven't figured out what hte top news/business story of the day is yet... you must be living under a rock or in a cave or something. I couldn't believe all the e-mails I received via various news sources regarding the talks that are happening b/n Telus and BCE and the potential merger.

I'm sort of on the fence on how I feel about this. As one would argue, this makes the mktplace smaller and the less competitors there are, the worse it is.

However, the recent mergers or acquisitions of a Cdn company by an Amercian one has also bothered me. We're seeing more of a proliferation of this and it saddens me to see Cdn grown co's move south.

Another thing to consider is - doesn't it make sense for acompany w/ vast experience in the telecomms industry to acquire BCE rather than a pension board/grp?

& despite the number of Telus naysayers, I've gotta say that every experience I've had w/ Telus has left me WAY more satisfied than Bell. It took me three... count them, THREE weeks to get my phone connected when I was in Ontario. PLUS, Bell charged me for two weeks of DSL when I didn't even have a phone line and overcharged me on my long distance plan. *sigh* I may have had to wait more than an hour for the Telus dude to hook up my phone, but he came up to my unit and answered all my questions and I was given two months free of DSL when I should've only received one.

It was nice knowing ya

In the classic battle of Sony's Betamax vs. JVC VHS, the victor was JVC. Of course, in the end run, Sony has most likely been a more successful organization in terms of product development and profits.

Reminiscent of this battle is the new Sony Blu-Ray vs. Toshiba HD DVD. I was on the Blu-Ray bandwagon, mostly because it was hte format that the PS3 -- for obvious reasons -- would be supporting. While the PS3 may have been ridiculously expensive, it's still cheaper than purchasing a standalone HD DVD player. Well... in the "format war" it looks like HD DVD is on the losing end as Blockbuster just announced that they are increasing hte # of Blu-Ray titles from 250 to more than 1,000.

Drunk, pregnant or really touched?

While I make Perez Hilton a daily read, I can't necessarily say that I'm a huge fan of his. He may be on top of all the celebrity gossip that I'm after and able to post it in short write-ups, but as a personality, Perez is seriously overrated. I don't understand why he gets invited to parties and awards shows, such as the MMVA. I guess it's free publicity for them, given that Perez will certainly report on anything & everything, particulary if he was there, regardless of how insipid it is. Hell - I'm giving him "free" publicity now - why am I even wasting my energy? ;)

I'll be the first to admit that I used to find Avril Lavigne's music catchy. I'll even admit that I own her first album. Who didn't love Sk8r boi? I know that you did even if you're in denial. W/ this said, I HATE Girlfriend. What a horrendous song & when did she get back-up dancers?

I caught a bit of the MMVAs last night & saw that she won a viewers choice categories. Clearly Cdns' taste in music is a lot worse off than I originally thought. However, my first thoughts when I saw Avril accept the award was, "Is she drunk, pregnant or genuinely touched?" I'd like to go w/ the latter as it would show taht she does have a softer side and has potentially matured. Avril really seemed to be touched that she won it as she had started crying. & even if she was drunk, I don't necessarily think that it was "hilarious" that she was crying as Perez has claimed.

What do you think?

Uh oh...

I'm in trouble if ISPs start charging users for the "exact amount and kinds of content they use on the Internet."

I rarely use the Internet to "surf." Sure, I use it to read my favourite celebrity gossip blogs , stalk quasi-celebrities/B-listers/reality stars via their MySpaces and creep on Facebook on the weekends, but during the weekday evenings, all I do is "seek" out television shows that I need to catch up on or aren't available on Cdn networks.

I currently give $40 a month to my ISP and if they change up the system, I'm gonna be screwed.

Unfortunately, I don't have a TV :(

Well, that's not the complete truth. I do have a TV, but it's still sitting in my parent's living room. I just don't see hte pnt in moving it to my condo if a) my place is a ginormous mess & b) I still need to get a TV bench, etc. W/ that said, I'm still incredibly behind in my television watching thanks to my two week trip out east... in April. Hell, I *JUST* watched the season series finale of Veronica Mars last night & man was it ever written w/ an open ending. Damn you CW for not renewing it... DAMN YOU! They just don't know what's good television when it hits them squarely on the forehead. *sigh*

The only positive thing about not having a TV is that there isn't much in terms of summer television other than my fave, So You Think You Can Dance and my guilty pleasure, Kyle XY, leaving me w/ the opp to catch up on movies that I've been wanting to see.

While it has been years since I've watched American or Cdn Idol, I am tempted to watch CI this year for one reason & one reason only... Dave Kerr. I've had a lil crush on him since he first appeared on Much's Video on Trial. I just want to squeeze him & take him home w/ me. ;)