I am unsure as to how successful the blackout was but i am going to write my Top 5 Changes anyway (well 6 really), so here goes:

1 - Do away with the annoying on the eyes and migraine inducing white background and the boring blue colour theme, everything looks the same, white and blue, i know websites are supposed to be consistent with their theme and colours but it is just plain boring. If they cannot change it for fear of more people complaining about a different colour then an easy option would be a simple skins options, even Gamespot has an option of either white on black or black on white, you have it on a sister site, then surely you awesome (sarcastic) designers can think of something.

2 - Extend the tracked blog section to more than 4, this annoys me very much as i like to read blogs by other members and it is easy to miss them as sometimes they do not show in my tracked blog section on my profile page as it only shows 4, call me lazy all you like for not clicking on see all tracked blogs, but i have never really had to do this before as the top 10 on the old theme was sufficient.

3 - This may seem petty but bring back the emblems for editors of shows and person guides, the whole site would be pretty much a shell if it was not for us users who take our own time to sit and contribute to your database, and some of us work very hard doing this....for free i may add, so some of us like to have our editor emblems back as we have in-fact worked for them.

4 - Restore the BB code so we can bold, italic, colour, number e.t.c. with ease like we used to have! blogs look ridiculously boring now and not everyone knows about or how to use tags.

5 - If you are going to have a expand section in the upper right corner then i have an idea..........why not make it work and make it worth even bothering to expand, i currently still have news in there from 2007 announcing the Life On Mars sequel Ashes to Ashes, the news headline reading 'Mars' Sequel Lifts Off at BBC' and it shows that i currently have 12 friends online, yet i can only 3 of their names are visible to click on, where are the other 9?? please test things before dumping them on us to test for you

6 - Not sure about anyone else but i liked the Pie chart showing the genre percentage of my favourite shows, and the list of how many contributions i had made that were accepted, pending or rejected, this should be shown on profiles for easy viewing, instead of having to go to contributions on the left and then into submission status, why make something so important to some users so out of the way instead of leaving it where it was.

This is my last blog before my blackout begins, it turns the 30th for me in just over 30 mins, so i shall see you all on the other side on wednesday and hopefully we will see some feeback on this! if we dont see feedback then i guess they really don't care about their users or the community!

See you later!

Jeric-Ho.......Signing off!

The following was posted on Glenn11523's most recent blog. He is the one who organized the one day boycott to make our feelings known to the executives of CBS and less than 24 hours after sending out his first call to action, it has gotten some attention. Here is the body of his blog:

The idea for the blackout day is gaining speed. Please check my last blog for more on that.

I want to be clear about some things. We are not out to get tv.com to roll-out the previous version of tv.com!

We are not out to dump on the site or its hard working staff (most of whom are volunteers)!

In fact, you can see on my comments section from my last blog, grailwolf, is one such person who has taken the time to respond (in detail) to the feedback we've been giving.

The problem is that the hardworking staff and volunteers do not actually control what happens here. They are merely the "front line" and as such, they take all the anger/frustration/complaints head-on and the people who set the policies and make decisions remain very insulated from all this.

Ultimately these people care about one thing only. How much money can tv.com make them.

How do they make this money? Mostly through advertising. They sell space on the site to those who are interested in reaching a the demographic of users that log on here.

How do they know what the demographic represents? Well for starters each new user is asked to provide personal information that includes birthdate and gender.

Next comes the all important "traffic" logs. These show how many people visit the site each day, how long they stay, what activities they partake in and even if they click on any of the advertising.

CBS bought tv.com and thus it is no surprise that a vast majority of the ads now feature CBS programming.

They brought in a team to "revamp" and "redesign" tv.com. In part to suit their needs that now include prominent advertising on every single page we visit here.

Ok, as a business person, I understand that completely. I can respect it, and even support it.

What I don't respect and what I don't support was they way this new redesign was created and rolled out.

So what is the point of blackout day?

As I've said, every day a log is kept of the number of hits and visits and how much time the average user spends when logged in. These then become weekly and monthly statistics. They are used as a method to set the rate they can charge to advertisers and dips (particularly large ones) get really noticed.

They are one of the ONLY things that get immediate attention, require explanations and make life generally a bit uncomfortable for the suits.

I hope to accomplish exactly that.

Will this crash tv.com? Not a chance and hardly our goal.

Will we get noticed and call attention to the general dissatisfaction level here (you bet, and already have).

Will it result in any lasting change? Well frankly that depends entirely on how many people participate. I am not out to destroy anything, but I grew weary of seeing people leave the site and in hearing more and more grumbling and the general "nothing can be done about it anyway" refrain.

Something can be done, and thus, I came up with a plan to do something.

At the end of the day, if the participation is high enough, not only will we get noticed, but I know for a fact that someone will be assigned to cull through the blogs posted on Oct. 1 for what suggestions for change got the most votes. Honestly something can be done because there is strength and power in numbers.

Since this started I have heard from a number of the staff here who are actually quite supportive of what we are doing, since they have actually tried to explain the high level of hostility and anger they are facing from the users and have been told things like "people always resist change" or "it will blow over soon enough" or "you'll always have a few very vocal people who (b word), so just ride it out"

There are so many of us that are NOT happy.

It is a much larger problem that they might believe.

We hope to show them just how large.

On my last blog comments, grailwolf said (in part)

"I'm sure that our community liaisons are limited in the way that they can express their opinions on the matter, so perhaps something like this can make the CBS management see the larger issues"

THIS IS THE POINT OF IT ALL!!

Remember on October 1, the second part of the plan takes place. Log in and blog with a list of your top 5 things you want to see changed for the site.

Please, PLEASE, pass this information along. Blog about it and get everyone you can to participate. One thing is very clear....

IF ONLY A FEW PEOPLE PARTICIPATE IN THIS, THEN CBS WILL SIT BACK AND BE ABLE TO SAY "SEE, THERE ISN'T REALLY A PROBLEM HERE"

I have done all I can now to point us in a direction that will generate something positive. Now, the rest is up to you.

WILL YOU HELP? If yes, talk about this, blog about this and support this.

Thank you very much!

Hey peeps! :D

It has been awhile since my last blog, reason being.....The stupid new design! (I did post one a few days ago, but people wer saying they could not read it??) i am still not liking it, hate the colour scheme! too white and i don't like the blue, everything just looks too generic!, even the community spotlight section on the homepage is now boring looking! i did wish to be chosen for it at some point (Probably never will) as it looked cool, but now it is just boring blue and white, and not even noticable now considering it is 'The Spotlight'

Annnyway, that is just a minor part of the redesign i do not like, i don't like he fact that on our profiles it does not say how many contributions you have made, accepted/pending/rejected, i think removing this was stupid aswell as the removal of the favourite genres chart for Drama, Sci-Fi e.t.c. Profiles look very boring now, even the drag and drop option to change your profile is rediculous as all you can really do is move your blog above your about me section and vice versa, hardly worth adding in my opinion!

My blogs are very boring now aswell, as i have had to turn the WYSIWYG Editor off, as nobody could read my blogs and forum topics, so now i cant really edit anything, and i am not going to bother sitting and putting tags on everything i want bold, italic or coloured, let alone add images to them, i want to make Rock The Blog #5 but i can't be bothered untill everything is fixed, if anyone knows if the WYSIWYG Editor is fixed, then please let me know, or if you still cannot read this, then let me know please via comment replies or PM's, thanks! :)

Oh and everything is fine in the life of Dave at the moment, more on this in a further update in the very near future! :D

Anyway that is enough b!tching for now,

Enjoy :D

Time for Rock The Blog #4 i think, thanks to those few who have shown interest! It is always good to broaden your music horizons i feel! :)

This time i bring you some Brazilian Metal known as:

Angra!

Angra was formed in 1991 by Santa Marcelina Music College vocalist 'André Matos', they released their first Demo in 1992 titled 'Reaching Horizons' and their first full album in 1993 'Angel's Cry', the band went through a major member change in 2000, but still kept the same sound, the band past and present band members are:

• André Matos - Vocals (1991 - 2000)
• Eduardo Falaschi - Vocals (2000 - Present)
• Luís Mariutti - Bass (1991 - 2000)
• Felipe Andreoli - Bass (2000 - Present)
• Marco Antunes - Drums (1991 - 2000)
• Aquiles Priester - Drums (2000 - Present)
• Kiko Loureiro - Guitar (1991 - Present)
• Rafael Bittencourt - Guitar (1991 - Present)

In their 17 year career they have released 11 albums which are:

• Aurora Consurgens - 2006
• Temple of Shadows - 2004
• Live at São Paulo - 2002
• Hunters and Prey - 2002
• Rebirth - 2001
• Fireworks - 1998
• Holy Live - 1997
• Freedom Call - 1996
• Holy Land - 1996
• Angels Cry - 1993
• Reaching Horizons (demo) - 1992

The song i bring to you this time is:

Angra - Scream Your Heart Out

(You will have to press Play)

Taken from the album 'Aurora Consurgens' (2006)

Well folks, that is Angra, hope you have enjoyed, please feel free to comment and come back for Rock The Blog #5 :D

Jeric-Ho

Time for Rock The Blog #3 i think, thanks to those few who have shown interest!

This time i give you finnish legend Marco Hietala's

Tarot

Tarot was originally formed by the Hietala brothers in the early 80's. Back then the band's name was called "Purgatory". As Purgatory reached the point when they got the record deal, the label wanted Purgatory to change their name. Since then the band has been known as Tarot. Marco is still currently also a member of Finnish metallers 'Nightwish'! :D

They released their first single 'Wings of Darkness' in 1986 and during that same year they released their first full length album which was titled as "Spell of Iron" and have released 9 more albums since, their newest album was released in 2008, their album discography is as follows:

• Spell Of Iron - 1986
• Follow Me Into Madness - 1988
• To Live Forever - 1994
• To Live Again - 1994
• Stigmata - 1995
• For The Glory Of Nothing - 1998
• Shining Black - 1998 (Japan), 2003 (Worldwide Release)
• Suffer Our Pleasures - 2003
• Crows Fly Black - 2006
• Undead Indeed - 2008
  

The song i give to this blog is

Tarot - Crows Fly Black

(Click link above to listen, you may have to press play)

Taken from the 2006 album titled 'Crows Fly Black'

And there we have Tarot! hope you enjoyed! i know a person who will!, you know who you are! :D

Till next time! Enjoy!

I got hold of a Wii fit today, i was setting it up and doing my weight check and BMI, and to my surprise it says i am Obese, well just into the Obese anyways! i admit i am not exactly the slimmest of people but i never thought i was obese ever! but not to worry, thats what we got the Wii Fit for anyways to get rid of some excess weight! :D it is fun though!

And today i also got

• Mario Galaxy
• Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
• Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz

I have been after a Wii for a long time, but it was getting the cash to buy one, but my girlfriend found out about the Wii Fit, and she decided she wanted it, so she went halves with me on a Wii! But after buying the Wii, we found out that ALL shops where i live have sold out of the Wii Fit as it is very popular, but i have the numbers for some shops who are getting deliveries in the next few days, so gotta ring around and get one reserved for her!, I on the other hand bought myself Zelda: Twilight Princess!! i have wanted this game for so long, i love the Zelda games! and i have not played it much since i got it but it is gooooooood! i am abit stuck though, unsure how i am supposed to get the womans cat back for her, i have the fishing rod and i am pretty sure i am supposed to catch a fish for the cat, BUT i can't seem to catch one as i do not have bait, or the slightest clue on where to find any! :D

I quite like the Wii Sports that comes with the console, considering it comes free it is not a bad little selection of games! i like them all bar the Baseball that is just boring! loving the bowling though :D

Some games i have my eyes on are Dragon Quest, Fire Emblem, Alone in the Dark, RE: The Umbrella Chronicles and Paper Mario, i have heard 'No More Heroes' is supposed to be good but i am unsure, anyone have any game recommendations? :D

Well time for Rock The Blog #2 i think, this time i present to you...

Pain

Pain are an Industrial Metal band from Sweden, the brain and main man behind the band is Peter Tägtgren, he writes, and creates all of the music, he is the vocalist and instrument player in the band when they record a new album, he sometimes gets guests in to play some of the instruments on some studio tracks, and when they play live. They released their first self-titled album in 1997, they have since released four more albums, their discography is as follows:

• Pain - 1997
• Rebirth - 1999
• Nothing Remains The Same - 2002
• Dancing With The Dead - 2005
• Psalms Of Extinction - 2007

The song i have chosen for RTB #2 is:

Pain - Walking On Glass

The Lyrics are also included in the link above if you feel like singing along! :D track taken from the 2007 album 'Psalms Of Extinction'

So there we have it, hope you enjoy and please come back for more on Rock The Blog #3, coming soon :D

I have seen alot of people doing this in their blogs so i thought i would hop on the band wagon, as i have heard some good music on some other members blogs that i never had heard of before, some good and some i did not like, but i like listning to new music, as my life would be so boring if it were not for music.

I have named this 'Rock the Blog' for the reason being that my favourite music genre is Rock, and different genres thereof e.g. Metal, Alternative e.t.c. so the songs i am going to be linking to in these blogs will be of the Rock nature, so i do hope there are some Rock fans out there who might appreciate this! :D The songs i will be adding will be bands that are not generally house hold names, well not in the UK and the US anyways as far as i know, if you have heard of them then that is good, but if not then please give them a listen and let me know what you think :D

Ok so first up...(Click the song title, which links you to the song).

Rock The Blog #1 presents:

Sonata Arctica - Peacemaker

Taken from the CD Single 'Wolf & Raven'

Sonata Arctica are:

• Tony Kakko - Vocals
• Elias Viljanen - Guitar
• Marko Paasikoski - Bass Guitar & Backing Vocals
• Tommy Portimo - Drums
• Henrik Klingenberg - Keyboard
  

Sonata Arctica was born in 1996 on the edge of the world, in the northern Finnish town of Kemi, in 1996. Their first band name was Tricky Beans, under this name they originaly wrote and created 'Peacemaker', In 1997, they changed their band name from Tricky Beans to Tricky Means, in 1999 they released their first demo titled 'Full Moon', which later became a fan favourite. with this the band were signed to the Finnish metal label 'Spinefarms' where they changed their name for the last time to 'Sonata Arctica', also in 1999 they produced their first studio album titled 'Ecliptica'.

Sonata Arctica have became house hold names in Europe, mainly Finland and Sweden, but their music is loved by Japan, and they regularly tour there for their fans and since the release of 'Ecliptica' in 1999 they have gone to produce some amazing music and i managed to get tickets to see them live in November 2007 when they done a gig in London, UK :D, their other albums are as follows:

• Ecliptica - 1999
• Successor (EP) - 2000
• Orientation (Japan only release EP) - 2001
  
• Silence - 2001
• Songs of Silence - 2002
• Takatalvi (EP, Tranlsates to 'Backwinter' ) - 2003
  
• Winterheart's Guild - 2003
  
• Reckoning Night - 2004
• Don't Say A Word (EP) - 2004
  
• For The Sake of Revenge - 2006
• Unia (Translates to 'Dreams' ) - 2007

Well there you have it a quality song and Sonata Arctica's history in brief! hope you liked the song, if you did, the please do try their other stuff, and feel free to comment and let me know what you think of the greatness that is Sonata Arctica! :D