Life at #206

The new computer desk and coffee table look great (Thanks Chantal!) Can't fit my stereo in there now ao I'll have to pick up some new computer speakers next payday. And in the meantime I need to find a place to put the stereo and the cd changer. Maybe in the bedroom.

I think on one of my days off coming up I'm going to clean up the balcony and get rid of some of the shit out there and put the chairs back. I have a pretty decent view and I never go out there.

Shakira and the Red Hot Chili Peppers led the pack of MTV Video Music Awards nominees released today, each landing seven nominations. Madonna and Panic! At The Disco each had five nominations and Christina Aguilera got four nominations. The 2006 VMAs will air live from New York's Radio City Music Hall on August 31. Below are the full nominees.

VIDEO OF THE YEARChristina Aguilera: "Ain't No Other Man"Madonna: "Hung Up"Panic! at the Disco: "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Dani California"Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

BEST MALE VIDEOBusta Rhymes f/ Mary J. Blige, Rah Digga, Missy Elliott, Lloyd Banks, Papoose & DMX: "Touch It Remix"James Blunt: "You're Beautiful"Kanye West f/ Jamie Foxx: "Gold Digger"Nick Lachey: "What's Left Of Me"T.I.: "What You Know"

BEST FEMALE VIDEOChristina Aguilera: "Ain't No Other Man"Kelly Clarkson: "Because of You"Madonna: "Hung Up"Nelly Furtado f/ Timbaland: "Promiscuous"Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

BEST GROUP VIDEOThe All-American Rejects: "Move Along"Fall Out Boy: "Dance, Dance"Gnarls Barkley: "Crazy"Panic! at the Disco: "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Dani California"

BEST RAP VIDEO50 Cent: "Window Shopper"Busta Rhymes f/ Mary J. Blige, Rah Digga, Missy Elliott, Lloyd Banks, Papoose & DMX: "Touch It Remix"Chamillionaire: "Ridin' "T.I.: "What You Know"Yung Joc f/ Nitty: "It's Goin' Down"

BEST R&B VIDEOBeyoncé f/ Slim Thug: "Check on It"Chris Brown: "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)"Jamie Foxx f/ Ludacris: "Unpredictable"Mariah Carey: "Shake It Off"Mary J. Blige: "Be Without You"

BEST HIP-HOP VIDEOBlack Eyed Peas: "My Humps"Common: "Testify"Daddy Yankee: "Rompe"Kanye West f/ Jamie Foxx: "Gold Digger"Three 6 Mafia: "Stay Fly"

BEST DANCE VIDEOMadonna: "Hung Up"Nelly Furtado f/ Timbaland: "Promiscuous"Pussycat Dolls f/ Snoop Dogg: "Buttons"Sean Paul: "Temperature"Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

BEST ROCK VIDEO30 Seconds To Mars: "The Kill"AFI: "Miss Murder"Green Day: "Wake Me Up When September Ends"Panic! at the Disco: "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Dani California"

BEST POP VIDEOChristina Aguilera: "Ain't No Other Man"Madonna: "Hung Up"Nelly Furtado f/ Timbaland: "Promiscuous"Pink: "Stupid Girls"Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

BEST NEW ARTIST IN A VIDEOAngels and Airwaves: "The Adventure"Avenged Sevenfold: "Bat Country"Chris Brown f/ Juelz Santana, "Run It!"James Blunt: "You're Beautiful"Panic! at the Disco: "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"Rihanna: "S.O.S."

VIEWER'S CHOICEChris Brown f/ Juelz Santana: "Run It!"Fall Out Boy: "Dance, Dance"Kelly Clarkson: "Because of You"Rihanna: "S.O.S."Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

BEST DIRECTION IN A VIDEO10 Years: "Wasteland" (Director: Christopher Sims)AFI: "Miss Murder" (Director: Marc Webb)Common: "Testify" (Director: Anthony Mandler)Gnarls Barkley: "Crazy" (Director: Robert Hales)Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Dani California" (Director: Tony Kaye)

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY IN A VIDEOChristina Aguilera: "Ain't No Other Man"Madonna: "Hung Up"Pussycat Dolls f/ Snoop Dogg: "Buttons"Sean Paul: "Temperature"Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS IN A VIDEOAngels and Airwaves: "The Adventure"Beck: "Hell Yes"Missy Elliott: "We Run This"Pearl Jam: "Life Wasted"U2: "Original of the Species"

BEST ART DIRECTION IN A VIDEO10 Years: "Wasteland"Common: "Testify"Panic! at the Disco: "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Dani California"Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

BEST EDITING IN A VIDEOThe All-American: "Move Along"Angels and Airwaves: "The Adventure"Gnarls Barkley: "Crazy"Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Dani California"U2: "Original of the Species"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A VIDEOAFI: "Miss Murder"Ashlee Simpson: "Invisible"James Blunt: "You're Beautiful"Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Dani California"Prince: "Black Sweat"

BEST VIDEO GAME SOUNDTRACK"Final Night Round 3" (Electronic Arts)"Burnout Revenge" (Electronic Arts)"NBA 2K6" (2K Games)"Driver: Parallel Lines" (Atari)"Mark Ecko's Getting Up" (Atari)

BEST VIDEO GAME SCORE"Hitman: Blood Money" (Jesper Kyd)"Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter" (Tom Salta)"Dreamfall: The Longest Journey" (Even "Magnet" Johansen)"Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" (Jeremy Soule)"Electroplankton" (User Generated Soundtrack)

Big Brother 7 slop is "nutritionally fortified porridge mix

Earlier, I identified the Big Brother 7 “slop” food as oatmeal. Instead, it’s “a just-add-water, nutritionally fortified porridge mix,” according to TV Week, which investigated the food. I was wrong, and I regret the error and the implication that producers just chose oatmeal instead of something so much more complex and fascinating.

The houseguests are allowed to prepare this product any way they like, just as long as they don’t add other foods to it. They may, however, use condiments, as long as they come from an approved list. Those allowed condiments are, according to TV Week:

“balsamic vinegar, olive oil, red wine vinegar, rice vinegar, vegetable oil, hot sauce, ketchup, BBQ sauce, mayonnaise, mustard, pickles, relish, salsa, soy sauce, steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce, honey, black pepper, garlic salt, crushed red pepper, salt, vanilla, basil, bay leaves, cinnamon, leaf oregano, paprika, parsley, rosemary, brown sugar, artificial sweetener, powdered creamer, white sugar, tea and protein powder.”

The site also unearthed the full ingredients, if you’d like to buy something similar or try to make your own, although who knows if all these chemicals are commercially available. The ingredients are as follows:

“Natural oats, proprietary blend of whey protein concentrate, soy protein isolate, wheat protein isolate, milk protein isolate, natural and artificial flavors, vitamins and minerals (vitamin A palmitate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, cyanocobalamin, vitamin D3, alpha tocopherol, niacin, biotin, pantothenic acid, calcium carbonate, magnesium oxide, zinc oxide, copper gluconate, manganese sulfate, ferrous sulfate, folic acid, potassium iodide), cellulose gum, salt and acesulfame potassium.”

Executive producer Alison Grodner takes credit for changing the punishment food to this porridge. Oh, Alison! So creative! She also told TV Week that she and other producers tested it first and farted as a result. “I ate it for a meal. We all did around here before it got to them,” she said, “so I can only imagine it after eating it for a week.” She adds, “It’s really bland, but because it’s got protein it’s got a bit of an aluminum taste.”

I hooked up the webcam again, there is a graphic to the right of the screen that says when it's online. Not sure why just because I guess....