CES After Dark: Fuck the Monster Cable Party

The Monster Cable party at CES is a lot like New Year's Eve in Times Square: People that have never been think it looks great, but anyone who has ever been would rather pry off their fingernails with a pair of pliers than do it again. Every year, Monster takes some of that loot it makes selling ridiculously expensive wire and hires a big-name act to play for them. This year it was Mary J. Blige. It sounds like a good deal: An A-list musical act for zero dollars. But then they make you sit through a bunch of ultra-silly pep rallying beforehand. It's the worst, so I opted to work on increasing my free dinner count, which is currently at 7, by the way...

I opted for a two dinner night, one on Voce Communications at the Wynn's swanky Italian joint, Bartolotta. The second was a demo of the Philips AmBX technology at Mix, which is on the 64th floor of THE Hotel and Mandalay bay. Both were awesome. What was less awesome was the lettuce, bread and ball of butter combo plate I got from the press lounge. Maybe I should get there a little earlier tomorrow...