Day by Day: $44 for a single drink in a Baku restaurant…

Yesterday I was told this “unbelievable” story, about some foreigner in Baku, who decided to go to a restaurant and have something to eat. So, he goes there, and orders himself a drink. Turns out, the restaurant does not have this particular drink, and the client is, of course, upset.

But, the restaurant across the street does, so waiters rush there, grab this drink, come back and give it to this foreigner. He’s now happy.

Well, he was, until he saw the tab. He had to pay 35 AZN (around $44) for single drink! I don’t drink myself, so I don’t really know if there are restaurants in Baku that charge that much for a drink (even if there is such an expensive drink available here). But the number is mind-blowing.

 

SOULSCREAM – Our beloved society: how to deal with “azerbots” ?

There are people in Baku, whom I am thankful for helping me out through the years. There are also those, whom I love and respect very much. There are even those who influenced me, but they dont know it themselves.

And, there are lots of others, who think they are patriots from top to bottom, but in fact, they are nothing but “human insects”, which are so narrow minded, I almost feel like a genius when talking to them.

This is going to be a nasty post, so you’ll have to excuse me. Last night, a friend on Facebook sent me a link, for some “Eurovision” related page, and I joined in. After reading some discussions there (people from various countries participated, azeris included), I decided to join in. A few things that I wrote there were:

 

My latest interview: Cult b-movie action star Ted Prior

And, I’ve got another interesting interview here. If you’re into b-movies, then the name Ted Prior should definitely sound familiar to you.

I’ve been lucky enough to interview Ted especially for my movie blog BZFilm, and below is the interview, where Ted explains his acting method, his shape in “Deadly Prey”, talks “Deadliest Prey” and also explains why he never stayed in the modeling business…

Ted, first of all, thanks for agreeing to do this interview. I’d like to start from the beginning. According to you biography, you became involved with theater as a child actor. How do you think, for an actor, which is easier, on stage in the theater, or perform on-screen in a feature film?

 

Martial arts, Basketball, and Websites: how egoism and team play collide in you

I vividly remember one of the main reasons I quit practicing and doing martial arts (shotokan karate do) about 12 years ago – it didn’t feel right. I’ve always enjoyed it (still love watching martial arts films and occasionally watch mixed martial arts fights), but at that time it seemed like egoism to me.

I earned my green belt, and then quit it. I felt I needed something else. One way to put it, I wanted to be a part of something big. That “something big” turned out to be basketball.

Now, I am no 7 foot giant (only 5’10 to be exact), but I played with heart for 7 years or so, after wrapping things up with karate. I was good for only a couple of things: I was a fairly good 3-point shot, and I loved playing in the paint, grabbing every rebound I could reach for. Everything else was pretty mediocre – my zone shot was poor, I was an awful dribbler (although could run pretty fast) and my stamina could have been a lot better. Anyway, basketball made me a team player, made me realize that even the best player cannot take it all up on his own (Wilt Chamberlain’s case).

 

Research: Facebook and Twitter fall behind Google in driving traffic to websites

According to the latest research, when it comes down to driving traffic to your website, social media giants like Facebook and Twitter suck at it. That’s what “OutBrain” company’s report says (originally posted on WebProNews).

The report is based on the fact that social media websites do not drive traffic to websites like search engines do. In fact, they’re not even close.

In other words, all these “likes” and “retweets” are good, but not as good as a user who googles something, stumbles upon your website and clicks on the link. “OutBrain” research also states that in case with social networks, users there, most of the time, just read the headlines, and don’t click on it (sometimes same applies to “liking” and “retweeting”).

So, with all that said, Google is a clear leader here. When people search, they usually click a result, which takes them to a webpage/site, in other words, traffic driving has occurred.

 

Facebook takedown: A solution to addiction or the road to chaos?

If you’re on the ball, you probably already heard or read the news about hackers announcing the “end” of Facebook on November 5th. This, of course, might be sad news to most people who can be considered “facebook addicts”, to others its just another childish statement. While we still got time till the given date, let’s see what happens if the Facebook does get shutdown. Below is the news itself:

“Vigilante hacking group, Anonymous, says they plan to take down Facebook on November 5th, saying that Facebook “gives users the illusion of and hides the details away from them ‘for their own good’ while they then make millions off of you.”

“Facebook has been selling information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to information security firms so that they can spy on people from all around the world,” Anonymous said in a statement, “… Changing the privacy settings to make your Facebook account more “private” is also a delusion. Facebook knows more about you than your family.”

 

Azerbaijani show-business going bananas…

I am not going to comment on show-business as a whole, will stick to our local Azerbaijani show-biz here. Sometimes, our “stage stars” make these pathetic, useless comments that the press just swallows, and then spits out to the usual readers.

I’ll give a small example. Not so long ago, one of our national artists, singer Aybeniz Hashimova made a jaw-dropping statement, while being on a local TV-show. Basically, what she said was that most of our young singers suck, and her daughter (also singer) Aynishan is the next big thing.

“First of all, these singers are pathetic. They try to ruin my daughter’s career, and I know, that one day, God will punish them all for this. They are scared to say something to my face, so its all being done behind my back. They’re all worthless, compared to my daughter. No matter how hard they try, they won’t be able to do anything to her. One day, she will even get an Oscar, you’ll see. I think, they all need to undergo some treatment in a psychiatric hospital.”