There are already a few resale sites that are offering tickets ranging for $700-1610 a piece.  Keep in mind that the highest price tickets are selling for through the legal portal is $390. Resellers are also showing that tickets will ship between February 1st and August 24th although BMOrg has stated that tickets will not ship until some time after June 1st, without giving a specific date. In Coachella’s attempt to thwart scalper’s buying up all tickets they decided to host identical festivals over two weekends, with the same lineup. Of course burning two men, two temples and cleaning out the city and ushering in 50,000 people for a second week of Burning Man is highly improbable.

There are a couple things that BMOrg can do to try and combat scalpers before they become a cancer to the event.

• Associate names with ticket numbers so you can track the movement of a ticket, even if the names are only virtually paired
• Force purchases to resell their tickets through a BMOrg portal
• Include verbiage to combat scalping in the Terms & Conditions

We first heard of the lottery/random selection system a few months ago and are now seeing if this system will be viable. There are tens of thousands of ‘burners’ queuing for a chance to be randomly selected for one of the 40,000 tickets being offered at the end of this month, potentially including those that did not receive a ticket purchase confirmation during December’s 3,000 ticket pre-sale.

For the next 13 days, at least, it’s a waiting game. Shortly after January 22nd the lucky 40,000 tickets will be randomly distributed to their very lucky recipients. Let’s hope that the far majority actually go to people genuinely interested in attending Burning Man and not looking to make a quick buck off of someone that has been saving up for this amazing place they call ‘home.’

Rivera says that he was pleading for his life, saying, “You’re going to kill me.” to which DeLeo responded, “You’re already dead you f-ggot.” When his third roommate walked out of his room he rushed to the aid of Rivera where he was subsequently attacked by DeLeo. Rivera stated that he pretended to be dead in an effort to save his life.

Rivera noted that DeLeo did admit to being homophobic which puzzled Rivera, who is openly gay.

DeLeo’s initial charge of aggravated assault was upgraded to attempted murder in addition to a count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, numerous weapons counts and one drug count. His $35,000 cash or bond was increased to $500,000 by Hudson County Superior Court Judge Francis B. Schultz. This still seems like a drop in a bucket when compared to the injures sustained by Rivera. He was stabbed 28 times which resulted in lose of a kidney, spleen, a collapsed lung that left him on a ventilator for three days, minimal use of one leg and no use in the other due to severe nerve damage. Rivera will need to partake in intensive physical therapy in an effort to regain use of his legs.

Even after all of this he is now facing attacks from supporters of the alleged attacked, DeLeo. One such post, although not addressed to any specific person said, “…I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE AND HAVE YOUR NAME [sic]…” It appears that this comment made reference to undesired phone calls after the poster publicly advertised their own phone number.

More anti-gay sentiments have been directed at Rivera. One of the comments, in the image below, was made by the mother of the alleged attacker. Please note that the ‘Like’ to the third comment was done by Ms. Loughner.

Statements like this are the last thing you would expect towards an innocent victim that was brutally attacked in his home.

Follow up responses by relatives of DeLeo did not share the sentiment of Ms. Loughner, thankfully.

You can only hope that in this day that people would understand that spewing hateful messages is impressionable and you may be unknowingly leading someone to think that they have the right to attack someone not only with words, but physically with no repercussions for their actions.

Sending DeLeo to prison will not magically make Rivera walk again nor will it bring back any of his organs, but what we can hope a just verdict will do is minimize attacks on someone simply on the basis that they are not what you would prefer them to be. People should not be lead to believe that this is acceptable or tolerable.

Can we stop the senseless and hateful attacks on our fellow human beings?

One of the things that I love about Android is their market. Blackberry has increased the number of applications they offer, to over 43,000, but they cannot compete with the Android Market’s 250,000+ applications. I feel like a kid in a candy store. With that many apps how can you make sure you find the ones that best suit you? For me it’s trial and error mixed in with a little bit of luck.

1. Barcode Scanner – I was always a little jealous of smart phones that were able to get quickly ad easily get information and also score nifty deals. Now I don’t have to be jealous anymore.
2. Foursquare – I’ve gotten retain my mayorships of my local park and this is the only way I’ll be able to showcase my growing number of badges I never got as a Girl Scout.
3. Little Photo - This is a powerful little app that definitely goes head to head and outshines any similar app. Adding a site where you can store and retrieve photos may render some photography apps obsolete.
4. picplz - I enjoy the fact that you can load photos, apply filters, and then tweet and tumble them. It’s definitely an answer to those that cannot get Instagram.
5. Scoutmob – Who doesn’t love a 50% discount? Being able to score deals without having to check the website daily and send/save text messages or spend any money  upfront is a win-win deal for me. The offers are currently available in 13 cities with 7 additional cities up next to receive great deals.
6. Shazam - I am the person that always hears some really amazing song, but I have no idea who the artist is. This app is a dream come true because it’s very likely to figure out a song title a lot quicker than I can.
7. Spotify – Although they have only recently entered the US market, Spotify has taken music streaming by storm. Granted, you need a premium account to use the mobile application, but it’s worth it. As far as I know there isn’t another application on the market where you can access your music offline.
8. Tumblr – This is the mobile version of the micro-blogging site that I use on a regular basis.
9. TweetCaster - On a Blackberry my choice was UberSocial, but I wanted to try something new. So far so good with this app. I can easily switch between Twitter accounts, check out trending topics, and navigate the application. The only thing I haven’t been able to do is save hashtags for easy reuse.
10. Words With Friends – I have always enjoyed a good game of Scrabble and thanks to this app I can continue to do so on my phone. Should there be as equally as good Taboo application created, I’m pretty sure I would need to carry my charger with me at all times.

Keep in mind I only have two weeks of experience exploring the Android apps. I’m sure there will be additional apps that I will get lots of use out of. I do plan on testing out Advanced Task Killer in order to keep apps from draining my battery, I just haven’t had the chance to with all my toying around with other apps.

What are your favorite apps in the Android Market?

1. Grab all your snowboarding gear
2. Jump on a chopper to the top of an untouched snow-covered mountain
3. Put your board on
4. Fly back down the slopes like your name is Travis Rice.

I mean, thanks to ‘The Art of Flight‘ film this is what I now believe. Of course this is about snowboarding, an area in which I know nothing.

I initially got word of the film via Klout Perks and was lucky enough to be eligible for the deal. There was no reason not to go to the World Premiere of a movie that was 99.9% more likely to be better than anything starring Jennifer Lopez.

I would assume I was part of the minority at this premiere. Everyone knew about skating and snowboarding (I can’t ride a skateboard either). The woman next to me asked me, ‘How many times have you watched the trailer?’ Maybe once? In actuality I hadn’t watched it at all and I think I was glad that I hadn’t. I enjoyed the film so much more not knowing a thing about the movie or what to expect. As each rider was introduced people were cheering like we were watching the Superbowl. If a packed out Beacon Theatre can be this excited for this film then it must be better than any film starring Jennifer Lopez.

The film was awesome. The riders definitely made it interesting and did things that I would have never encompassed as tricks that snowboarders would do. The film lit a fire and I now genuinely believe that I can ride a slope just like the guys I saw in the film. Thankfully they prefaced the movie with, ‘Don’t try this at home,’ or I just may have!

If you haven’t seen the film you should see it. If you have never been snowboarding you should definitely see it. If you hate snowboard you should still see it.

If you happen to see me on any slopes this winter just watch out, I don’t know what I’m doing!

Just after Sara Bareilles performed an opening act the Capt. Brad Weaver warned of severe weather in the area. There were instructions given in case an evacuation became necessary.  Around 10pm EST the weather worsened and winds picked up, causing the entire outdoor stage rigging to fail thus bringing down the entire stage on stage crew and guests seated near the front of the stage. Since its initial reporting, there have been at least four confirmed deaths and almost 50 injures attributed to the stage collapse, which pinned many people under the tangle of metal stage rigging.

(This clear video shows the collapse from a distance)

Sugarland has tweeted a message to their fans. We can only hope that there are no further injures or deaths related to this tragic Indiana State incident.

Last year Pakistan, which is over 95% Muslim, was hit by  the worst floods the country had seen in decades. The country not only saw widespread devastation, but they became dependent upon relief efforts due to the loss of crops and livestock. Irregardless of the hardship, many of the 14 million Pakistani people affected by the flooding committed to fasting during Ramadan. This was a time when those who lost everything banded together to help each other. Almost  a year later Pakistan is still picking up the pieces. Current figures estimate that more than 4 million people were displaced and at least 800,000 families are still living in shelters as they enter Ramadan.

As Pakistan is still dealing with last year’s flooding Somalia is trying to cope with worst drought and famine that they have seen in 60 years. Somalia is similar to Pakistan in that it is over 95% Muslim. Ramadan began with millions of observers fasting in these extreme conditions. Almost 30,000 children under the age of 5 have died in the past three months as a direct result to the drought and famine, according to USAID. Within six weeks the entire southern portion of Somalia will be considered a famine zone. This means over 3 million people in Somalia alone need immediate aid. Across the Horn of Africa there are over 10 million people that are being affected by this drought.

Many Somalians are finding ways to see the silver lining on the darkest of clouds during this troubling time. Some families, like that of Mohamed Idris, have little more than water and a few dates between them. Some wealthier families have offered items such as dates and rice to their fellow countrymen. Yesterday’s food distribution provided by the United Nations’ World Food Program turned into a gunfight that left at least seven people dead at the Badbaado camp, which is on the outskirts of Mogadishu.

While many Muslims around the world consider a 16 hour day fast during the summer cumbersome, most will not understand the feeling of breaking their fast with nothing to serve their family. There are many ways to help, including giving zakat. There are organizations like Islamic Relief that will allow you to donate to specific efforts including; orphan support, emergencies, and specific relief efforts by country. This is a time for Muslims and non-Muslims alike to take time help those in need. mA

Whether you use Airbnb, Couchsurfing, Hospitality Club, or Roomorama there are a few things you need to take into account when allowing someone stay in your home.

1. Require the guest to send you a message. Rather than just allowing any person to freely temporarily set up shop in your abode, you should have them send you an intro and try to gauge the person there.  For sites like Couchsurfing, be sure to detail how the ‘surfer’ should contact you and what they should include in their request.

2. Read their references/reviews. This is definitely an quick and easy way to get a feel for someone. If there is a questionable reference or review you can easily contact the person that left it. If the person doesn’t have any references/reviews you should request more information.

3. Leave references/reviews for guests. Consider this your way of paying it forward for future hosts. I know that I would love to know if someone stayed at your place and cleaned out your kitchen just before leaving. The same way, you should leave  a reference/review for the wonderful person that stayed with you and left you a great bottle of wine as a gift.

4. Have someone stop by. This is especially important if you are going to be away for a while. This could be a neighbor that can walk by or a family member/friend that has your spare set of keys. It’s a little comforting to know that your home and the contents of it are safe even if that means there are those five awkward minutes that Scott stops by ‘to pick up a dvd.’

5. Protect your belongings. If it’s something that you would consider irreplaceable, you may want to consider putting it somewhere safe. Granted, you should not need to hide anything because people should know to not encroach on your privacy but since we know this is not possible in today’s society. Things like passports, birth certificates, and jewelry should definitely be safely tucked away. Consider getting a standard safe to store items in or checking out something more creative like a wall clock with a hidden safe. These inexpensive options are little ways that you can further safeguard your belongings.

In the end there is no way to truly know how a guest plans to spend their time in your home, you can only try your best to make sure your belongings and well-being are your top priorities. This is not to say that you should background check every person that wants to stay with you. There are tons of amazing people to meet and things to learn from them, unfortunately you can’t trust any person that asks you to open your door for them.

Among those lucky couples were Perin  Hurewitz and Harriet Kirk, who were married in Canada and can now legally get married in New York. They opted to forgo the tradition ceremony and have a civil ceremony following the receipt of their certificate. Throughout the area there were people of all faiths and races there to celebrate one thing, equality. You could feel the sense of unity in the air, not even the 90 degree temperature didn’t stop thousands of people from joining in the celebratory energy.

Another couple that recently celebrated their soon-to-be marriage with a joint bachelorette

party had their ceremony officiated by Rev. Pat Bumgardner, one of NYC Pride’s 2011 Grand Marshals. Lt. Dan Choi served as the Maid of Honor and unofficial ring bearer. The union of Jeanette Coleman and Kawane Harris brings them one step closer to the full equality that they both hope to eventually enjoy. Jeanette would like to re-enlist in the Army, but DOMA keeps her wish from coming to fruition.

Happy Marriage Equality!

When I posed this question to a few people one guy mentioned that had only been to one wedding and had no idea that there was a ‘cover fee’ to attend. Most of the others agreed that a number of factors playing a part in the size of the gift they have given newlyweds. I’ve come to the realization that people don’t wake up knowing what amount is adequate and sometimes someone needs to give the wrong gift in order to see the true value of a gift.

After a recent wedding I received a message from a friend asking how much I had given to the couple, if I was willing to share that information, he added.  I obliged and told him my cash gift was in the $100 range. The next message left me a bit puzzled, he gave $54. Yes, it was a multiple of 18 so it was a nice thought. He felt that this was a fair gift from him and his guest. I know, I know, you shouldn’t expect to have money thrown at you at your wedding. The real reason people are there is to share in that special moment where two people are joined in marriage, but where do you draw the line? Isn’t it okay to expect a fair, or decent, gift? After all most wedding include hours of open bar, more food than most African tribes can eat in a month, sweet wedding favors, and live bands.

I’m not sure what the standard gift amount is in other parts of the US, but I wouldn’t expect it to be too different from NYC when you look at a few key elements. $100 would be my standard response to inquiries on an adequate cash gift amount. Should you decide to bring a guest, double your gift amount. Sometimes you’ve got to count your pennies and decide which weddings you can truly afford to attend. In the end if you truly can’t afford that 5th wedding this year, maybe you consider forgoing it. If not, pack a bag lunch for a few weeks so you don’t encounter any awkward moments.

Jasmine Nunez was reported missing by family members last weekend. She was last seen with her boyfriend, Andres Ceballos. With her disconnected phone number and no activity on any social media accounts there was little to go off of. Then there was a 911 call reporting a brush fire that led police to  a body  in James Baird Park, Dutchess County. Jasmine’s sister, Melanie, spoke to Andre and quoted her as saying that, “I talked to him the day after she was found. He sounded so calm.” Only recently was the body found at the park tentatively identified as Jasmine Nunez. Details leading up to her murder and body being set ablaze are still sketchy and the incidents leading up to her untimely death are still being investigated.

Nunez’s boyfriend was seen in the Washington, D.C. area after her disappearance and police eventually caught up with him, pulling him over on Route 58 near Emporia, VA. At this point a pursuit occurred when lead to a foot chase in where Ceballos took his own life before police could catch up to him.

The family of Nunez believes she was a victim of domestic violence. She would have been 23 next week.