BRH

Once again, thanks for all the well wishes for us here in the U.S. It is very sad to see the way things are breaking down in New Orleans and the extremely slow and unorganized response by the government. Also, the looting and violence is very sad, but these people are becoming very desperate now. One piece of information that some may not know is that New Orleans is a very poor city overall with lots of people who simply had no way of going anywhere. This is also why it has had the highest violent crime rate of any major U.S. city for several years now. So basically, this really couldn't have happened in a worse place. But once again, thanks for your continued sympathy and support. And yes, many of us did care very much about the UK tradgedy on 7/7 and offered our support and prayers. It is sad that things like this happen anywhere in the world, and we must pull together and not argue amongst each other when tradgedies like this occur. As far as Bush and the government go; also please know that not all of us are arrogant Americans who blindly support Bush. I didn't vote for him last time and almost half of us didn't. Also, according to a new poll, his popularity rating is now at an all time low of 40 percent. Personally, I am a democrat and was a big supporter of former president Clinton, and I think he was much more in touch with the world and with real people. He seemed much more globally minded and not so quick to go off on his own. Anyway, as I said, I don't want to get political, but I just wanted to say thanks for caring and hopefully we will all get through this tradgedy together. I certainly love the U.K. based on all I know about it, and I would love to visit someday. I also want to extend a welcome opening for anyone to visit us here in the U.S. Also, I understand why many view the U.S. in the way that they do, and just know, we aren't all as arrogant and unwilling to co-operate as it often seems. Once again, thanks for welcoming me into this forum and yes, I am still loving "Radio 1" and am learing more and more every day.

Thanks for the well wishes. I don't live in the New Orleans or Mississsippi gulf coast area, but everyone is devastated by what has happened there. I was just in New Orleans about 3 weeks ago, and to see what has happened to it on the news is unbelievable. The worst part is seeing some of the violence and looting that has taken place as people have gotten desperate. (New Orleans has long been one of the most violent cities in the U.S. anyway, and this tradgedy, I'm afraid, will bring that element out even more). But I certainly hope for the best and would like to thank everyone in the UK for thinking about us. After all, no matter whether it is tradgedies like the hurricane here in the U.S. or like the horrible bombings in London, we are all together and always benefit from each others support. Also, as a sidenote, one of the major things that has happened since the hurricane hit is a huge increase in gas prices here in the U.S. I am not sure if you are hearing about them on the news there or not, but prices have jumped from about $2.50 a gallon to $4.00, $5.00, and even $6.00 a gallon in some areas. I know you have been accustomed to prices like this already in the UK for years, but this sudden jump here is really causing a bit of a panic. It is due to the fact that many of the oil refineries in the U.S. are located in that region and have been shut down or badly damaged. Anyway, thanks again for all your thoughts and well wishes. We will need them. I am now hearing that New Orleans will have to be completely evacuated and may remain empty for up to 6 months.

Many schools here in the U.S. also now either ban phones or require them to be turned off (or at least try to ban them, but some still sneek them in). Also, as I said, text messaging is big on shows like American Idol, Big Brother, Survivor, etc. when they do polls and votes. Speaking of which, I love Big Brother. I believe the U.S. version began around the same time as the U.K. version several years ago. I know the U.K. version just wrapped up this year because I heard them talking about it on Radio 1. The current U.S. version (Big Brother 6) is still going on and is a little over halfway through. The finale' is supposed to be in late September. It's been a pretty fun group this year and is getting better every week. If anyone is interested, you can check out the details on the U.S. version of Big Brother at www.cbs.com/bigbrother I like a lot of the reality type TV shows, so thanks for bringing many of those to us here in the U.S. I know American Idol (Pop Idol), and Big Brother both originated in the U.K. first.

Texting, while not as big as in the U.K. is definately on the increase in the U.S. though. I haven't heard any radio stations here taking text messages yet, but it is often used for voting in polls on TV shows like American Idol and Big Brother, etc. Also, I know there has been some controversy over texting recently among teenagers in high schools, where some had been using text messages to cheat on exams.

I've noticed too that "texting" is a huge deal in the UK. They talk constantly about it on Radio 1 (much more than phone calls or e-mails). While, text messages are used quite a bit (especially by teens) here in the U.S., they aren't nearly as big as they are in the U.K. Cell phones (mobile phones) are huge in the U.S. and almost everyone has one, but not that many people seem to use the text messaging feature here yet. E-mail, or cell phone calls are much bigger here than text messaging. But since texting is becoming huge in Europe, I expect it to really take off here as well. You know us Americans, were always lagging behind on new trends. Also, our cell/mobile phone systems here in the U.S. are a bit strange. Most of the rest of the world (U.K. and Europe included) use GSM systems for cell phones. Here in the U.S., we have at least 4 different technologies and systems (GSM, TDMA, CDMA, and whatever Nextel uses..). Personally I have a Verizon Wireless cell phone and it uses the CDMA technology, and works well for me. However, these won't work in the U.K. and Europe like a GSM phone will.

Thanks everyone for welcoming me into your forum. As I said, I am a new listener and fan in the U.S., and am looking forward to hearing more of Radio 1 and becoming more familiar with all the shows and hosts. I posted a message at siriusbackstage.com on one of the forums as well, to ask others to come visit here. So hopefully you might hear from some other new U.S. listeners soon too. Thanks again everyone.

Hello everyone; I just discovered your website through a mention at www.siriusbackstage.com by one of your members. I am a subscriber to Sirius satellite radio (and also Dish Network satellite TV), and I am so excited about now having Radio 1 available to us here in the U.S. Radio 1 has been on Sirius now for 2 weeks and it I have been listening almost non stop. The feed is on a 5 hour delay, so the times that the announcers give match up to the current Eastern time Zone (New York and eastern U.S.) times. I kind of wish it was live, but I understand the need for the delay, so the morning show and others are heard at correct times. Otherwise, if it was live, the Chris Moyles show would begin at 2 A.M. here. Anyway, I just wanted to post and let you know what I thought so far. From the reaction that I've seen at siriusbackstage.com, BBC Radio 1 is very popular and has gotten a lot of positive reaction. I love the shows and the work that the announcers put into them. They are much more fun and interesting than the hit music stations here in the U.S. (many of which have little or no personality and are basically just music jukeboxes). Also, I am a big dance music fan, so I love the dance tracks and mixes that are on Radio 1. Dance music, while popular in the U.K. and Europe, really doesn't get much airplay here in the states. Everything here is so dominated by hip hop and rock. (especially hip hop). So I love being able to hear artists like Shapeshifters, Eric Prydz, Bodyrockers, etc. that receive no airplay here in the U.S. As far as the hosts go, I am really enjoying Chris Moyles, Colin and Edith, JK and Joel, and Scott Mills. I also really enjoy the weekend morning show with Spoony and the Sara Cox weekend show as well. The only show I've heard so far that I don't care for too much is Zane Lowe's evening show. It focuses mostly on rock, and I prefer a mix of pop/dance/hip hop/rock, like is played during the day. I also am enjoying the late night specialty shows and dance mixes. Another great feature is the "newsbeat" updates throughout the day each hour. These are very well done and very informative and it's great to hear what is going on in the world from a different point of view. (Most music stations in the U.S. only carry newscasts in the mornings anymore, so it's great to hear the updates all day long on a music station.) Anyway, sorry for the long post, but I just wanted to let you know that someone is listening here in the states, and I wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying having Radio 1. I have Sirius satellite radio in my car, so I listen to Radio 1 on my daily commute to and from work each day. I also have Sirius and Dish Network at home and listen there as well. Radio 1 is a truly great station and I want to thank you for bringing it to us here in the U.S. Also, if you want to see what others are thinking about Radio 1 or about other Sirius satellite channels, feel free to join us at www.siriusbackstage.com. It is a fan site of Sirius satellite radio and features forums devoted to the programming and technology. Once again, thanks and I'm proud to be a new Radio 1 listener and fan. Brian H. Tennessee, U.S.A.