Why is New York City so outstanding? Because they have Cash Cab!

It's hard to disagree that New York City is the most distinct city in the United States. There are many dramas and movies with plots taking place in NYC. Entertainment industries gather in this city. Many companies and organizations place their headquarters there.

But, what make it so different? Of course public transit (my favorite topic) can be one. But, Chicago has good one as well as Washington D.C. Strong presence of financial sector? Sure. But Los Angels also has great financial district. same for the entertainment industry.

I think NYC is distinct because the city is home of Cash Cab!

Wait. Isn't Cash Cab just a TV show? Having one cab that gives out money makes the city so different?

No, that's not what I mean. Let me rephrase that.

Conditions that NYC provides to help the TV show run so successfully make the Big Apple so different.

Every time I watch Cash Cab, I wonder why Cash Cab doesn't come to other cities like Birmingham or Atlanta. Birmingham may be too small to have good number of questions, but Atlanta is large.

But it doesn't because Atlanta doesn't have what NYC does to create the successful game show. Here are some conditions that NYC offers.

1. Strong pedestrians presence

To run a game show, you need to have players. In Cash Cab, players are pedestrians who use taxi cabs to get to destination and end up in the one giving out money for playing the game. Primary mode of transportation in New York City is walking and there are plenty of potential players. Driving is the worst choice (in my opinion) and you either walk or take subway or have someone drive for you.

2. Destination that attract people

Having sidewalk isn't enough to convince people to walk. There have to be destinations for them to come. In New York City, shops and businesses are so close to each other that walking is the most reasonable mode of transportation. Also, when you walk, you more often find new things like shops than when you drive. When you are walking in a city like NYC for shopping, you just walk in. You don't have to spend 10-20 minutes to find a parking space. People more interact and expose themselves to new culture. It is also good for environment to get them off single-occupant cars, too.

3. Safe enough to "kick out" passengers

When players give three wrong answers, they are kicked out of the cab even if they are even halfway toward destination. They may find another cab, or if close enough, walk. And New York City is a safe place to do that. In other cities, it's not necessarily the case. More often, you drive simply for a safety reason.

4. Reliable and trusted taxi industry

This is just because I had a bad experience with taxi cab in Birmingham, where I called for a cab and the cab didn't show up. I don't really know how to make money with cabs that don't come to pick up passengers, but it seems that cab service in New York City is so reliable that many people use it. So, one Cash Cab that looks exactly like other cabs can easily get players of the game on the street.

Birmingham is reviving its downtown and businesses have begun to return to the city center. It would be great to have everything close and not to have to drive for 30 minutes just to shop for daily necessity. Ultimately, isn't it what a city is for? For a city to be successful and vibrant, maybe it should look to Cash Cab and ask if the famous game show can come to make its version of it.

Hesitation to Music Streaming

Format of music marketing has changed dramatically in last decade. CD took over the market from LP. Late 90's, when I started to listen to Pop musci (that is... J-Pop as well as some Americaner), MD (Mini Disc) became a popular format, at least in Japan. (According to Wikipedia, MD didn't succeed as much in other countries.) MP3 came out afterward. iTune and Amazon became two major marketplace for music download.

Now emerging is streaming service. You can listen to your favorite music for free with advertisement or monthly fee. Pandora, iHeartRadio, Spotify... It is like internet radio. But there are services that allow you to choose songs to play. Comparing to buying albums, it may turn out to be cheaper to subscribe such services.

I think streaming can bring substantial change in music industry, better or worse.

Since I got Sony Xperia, I looked into Music Unlimited, Sony Entertainment's music streaming service. But I am hesitant to have my playlist fully dependent on streaming service. I don't know exactly why. I just don't feel right about streaming.

First of all, under a streaming service, you don't own the music. You just have access to the music through the Internet. The access is not free. You either listen to commercial or pay a fee to maintain the access. Fee itself is not expensive. As I mentioned above, it can be cheaper than buying songs. But, ultimately service providers have control and once they decide to remove certain songs, you cannot play them even if you put them on your playlist.

Some apps, including Music Unlimited, let you download songs on your phone and play offline. I think this is what keeps me from fully shifting from buying to streaming. It's great that I can listen to music that I like, even offline. But isn't it too much of consumerism? How are those artists and bands paid? I read a few article about how little the pay is even if their songs are played so many times. I feel like if I store songs in my devices, either my laptop or phone, streaming apps or MP3 player, they should be purchased. 

Recently I had a conversation with friends about music download and streaming. They were discussing how great Spotify and Pandora are. And I was not as positive as they were. To me, having music in my devise from streaming is like downloading music illegally when download was booming. 

I have to admit that streaming has its own strength though. New artists can be more visible. It can be great alternative to radio too. I think streaming will never go away. But, I'll probably rather download songs that I like so much that I want to have them in my devise.

2013 Iron Bowl

I love watching American football. Despite the complexity of its rules, I find myself enjoying great games and turns of events. I like NFL, but I'm more passionate about college football since Alabama does not have a professional team. I root for Falcons, but don't really keep up.

For those who don't know, in the State of Alabama, there are two college football giants, University of Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers. Every year, the two play each other on Saturday after Thanksgiving. This rivalry game is called Iron Bowl, and the whole state watches this match. Half of state root for Alabama and the other for Auburn.

I was originally neutral just like others who are new to the state. But after a couple of years, I started rooting for Alabama. There is no specific reason, but probably I had more friends who are Alabama fans.

Of course I watched the game yesterday. Alabama was up for third consecutive national title, ranked no. 1 in the nation. Auburn was no. 4, which was remarkable because it ended last season with no conference win and had to hire the new head coach. This year, Auburn had only lost to LSU.

Alabama had the game in hands until the middle of 4th quarter. Then, a field goal kick was blocked. They allowed Auburn to make a touchdown to tie the game. After a few plays, Alabama was going for 57-yard field goal with 1 second left on regulation.

Then unbelievable happened. The kick fell short, and Auburn had 1 player in the end zone to catch the ball and carried it all the way to the other end zone, ending with first Iron Bowl win since 2010.

I was wordless as most of Alabama fan at Jordan Hare Stadium (Auburn's home stadium).

You could blame all the failed field goal attempts, but it really could have turn either way. In fact Alabama was leading the game during the second quarter and first half of the 4th quarter. Alabama defense could not effectively stop Auburn's running offense. Last field goal attempt was just an unfortunate turn of event.

As much as I hate to see my team lose, I love this kind of great games. Auburn plays SEC Championship next Saturday and Alabama probably will land on an BCS bowl game.

Speaking of BCS (Bowl Championship Series), they will begin four-team playoff for FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) next year. Until this year, FBS has determined its national title with National Championship game played by No. 1 and 2 teams on BCS ranking. I like the idea of playoff since you may not get to go to National Championship with no loss or get to go even with one loss. Alabama in 2011 actually lost to LSU, but still played National Championship game with LSU (strange, isn't it?). Alabama ended up winning this time, but it is a strange system to decide.

Lower FCS (Football Championship Subdivision), where my JSU Gamecocks play, has playoff with more teams, conference champions and at-large bid. JSU was actually picked for at-large bid to the playoff and beat Samford on Saturday.

FBS should expand its playoff. In current BCS, it almost seems that National Championship is the only game that matters. One loss could result in losing chance to play national tile game even if you win the conference. Playoff where conference champions and other qualified teams play toward the title just like FCS can be really exciting. Of course there is conflict with sponsors of bowl games. But, maybe those bowl games can be integrated into the playoff system.