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Monday, July 31, 2006

links for 2006-07-31

The Future of Online Video Podcast

It's The Zadi and Steve Show: New Mediacracy.

Steve writes:
As many of you know, we've been doing a video blog show called Jet Set Show at jetsetshow.com. We've met so many people in this burgeoning world of online video who are also trying to pioneer this new media format that Zadi and I decided to start an audio podcast to discuss its future.

http://newmediacracy.blogspot.com/

For any of you interested in online video, this might be an interesting discussion for you. We talk about our backgrounds, how we wound up making videoblogs, current revenue models, and plenty more in this first show. In future shows, we will have lots of guests who are also working at the cutting edge of new media.
Downloading now for my plane ride home, on a jet.

Boston Citywide WiFi

Hub sets citywide WiFi plan - The Boston Globe:
The task force envisions a host of applications built on Boston's wireless network: among them, software connecting members of neighborhood crime watch groups, programs allowing teachers to communicate with students and parents, ``smart parking" software enabling drivers to find parking spaces and lots on the fly, educational websites providing information on historic sights; and advertising offering discounts or dinner specials at stores and restaurants.
We'll hear more later today. A monthly plan won't work for me. I already have a monthly plan at home.

Here in San Francisco, you can open your laptop almost anywhere and get free WiFi. I hope that's what Boston will have.

Mom on TV


KRON 4's Brian Shields reports on Blogher 2006 in San Jose.

Me, Amanda and Zadi


steve, amanda and me by karmagrrrl, uploaded from flickr.

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Over There


Over There by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

What Scoble learned from BlogHer

Scobleizer - What I learned from BlogHer.
Great write up on Blogher with pointers to lots of others blog posts.

This Looks So Cool


Kite Aerial Photography Rig at I Make Things

Robert Scoble on Joining a Network

I had a great time at Blogher getting to know the Scobles. Hey Robert, there's an idea for a video podcast for you, The Scobles.

Instead of going to a session yesterday morning we had a little session of our own with Dave Winer, Dan Gillmor, Robert and Patrick Scoble, and Daniel McVicar. Daniel is a new vlogger who learned about vlogging at a Meet the Vloggers in LA where Zadi showed him the way!

We all watched ZeFrank's Friday Episode of The Show. Brilliant.



Robert just posted his thoughts on the Yahhoo! Videoblogging list about joining a blog network. Great things to think about:
If I were looking to join a network I’d shop myself around. See what each network will offer you.

Things I’d be asking?

1) What’s the percentages you’re offering? (If a dollar comes into the network, how much do you get to keep?)
2) What kind of advertisers have you already signed? (Tells you who they are experts at talking out of money for you, if one network has lots of food advertisers, for instance, and you’re doing a cooking show, that should bias your choice there).
3) What do they bring to the table?
4) What do they expect from you?
5) How much ownership do they take over your content? If a TV network wanted your content, for instance, could you give it to them without a legal fight?
6) What’s their reputation in the community you serve? (Ask your friends who are already part of that network, you might be amazed what you’d learn).
7) What kind of people are they signing up? Are they the kinds of people/content you want to be associated with?
8) How responsive are they to your emails and questions? Do you get the cell phone of the guy in charge, or do you get some underling?
9) Do they have lots of videoblogs/bloggers in your subject area (that is a good predictor that they might actually bring you some traffic too, or at least have a good chance of selling ads that would make sense for your content).
10) What is their “leave the network” policy? IE, how easy is it for you to leave the network and go some place else?
11) What is the deal if you bring a sale into the network? (Let’s say you meet a General Motors executive and bring a million bucks into the network, what happens then and what’s different about that than if their salespeople find that business?)

Personally, we’re still working on our affiliate model, but if I didn’t work at PodTech, I’d seriously look at John’s network:

http://www.federatedmedia.net/authors/searchblog

Yes, I’ve been asking the same kinds of questions above.

Robert Scoble
Lots of brilliant people here. Lots of exciting things are happening!

Mom and Me at Blogher


IMG_4425 by Paynt Ball, uploaded from flickr.

It's so cool that so many more people can see how excited my mom is by learning new things and meeting new people.

She was just telling me that when she started blogging, she had no fear. Like Arinana Huffington, my mom is fearless!

As for the Hyatt San Jose, this MOTEL was a big dissapointment. The staff was frazzled and didn't care. It was the small things and that big things that they failed at.

No morning newspaper at my door, internet connection in the room was broken for my whole stay.

One last thing, my mom read the onine reviews and told me before we checked in that people saw cockroaches here.

I saw a cockroach the size of a Buick walking down the hallway. Hyatt should be ashamed to have their brand on this hotel.



Tags: Blogher_06, Blogher06, Blogher.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

links for 2006-07-29

Steve, Amanda and Zadi

Steve, Amanda and Zadi
Steve, Amanda and Zadi by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

Cropped from a photo by JD Lasica

.

Tags: Blogher_06, Blogher06, Blogher.

Garfields


Garfields by jdlasica, uploaded from flickr.

JD caught a great shot of me and my mom!

Friday, July 28, 2006

Jay, Millie and Schlomo


Jay, Millie and Schlomo by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

Jay Dedman, Millie Garfield and Schlomo Rabinowitz at Blogher!

I Just Love Your Bag!

Here I am at BlogHer and I'm meeting women, and men too.

I love women!

I like hugging!

45rpm pocketbook
I saw Alicia Dorset and her cool pocketbook at registration and I went up to her and said, "Oh, I love your bag!"

Man, I feel like a woman.

Then I saw Dave Winer and gave him a big hug.

Next, I saw Zadi Diaz! She hugs! Yay Zadi!

Looking for Scoble...

Vedors are here...

I grabbed a free natural mineral water with calcium and magnesium from Contrex, men need Calcium too. ;-)

Saturn is here too with two seater convertibles called Sky, that are available for test drives. I'll have to get my mom in one.

Technorati Tags: Blogher_06, Blogher06, Blogher.

Follow BlogHer06

Technorati Search: BlogHer06.

Scoble is here! I'm going to find him and give him a hug!

Thursday, July 27, 2006

links for 2006-07-27

Comcast: Splitting Cable


This is what the inside of the cable box on the side of my house looks like.

Basically it's a mess. My friend Jeff was over the other day looking at it and told me that that old splitter is causing data loss. A new one needs to be swapped in there.

But then we looked at it and saw that the splitter is not being used on one end. So the cable is being split, data loss is occuring, but it doesn't actually need to be split. This splitter needs to be removed and the cable needs to be connected together directly with a barrel connector.

Here's some more info on splitters:
broadband | Cable Modems and Wiring Issues 4. Splitters:
"Q: What do the numbers on a splitter mean? (#3398)

A: Each splitter is different, but here is what most of them mean:

The numbers on each OUT leg of the splitter show how much signal is lost after passing through that leg.

For example, a 2 way splitter has 3.5 on each leg. That means that 3.5db was lost as the signal passed through that leg.

Note: The signal loss written on splitters is how much is lost at around 50 to 100Mhz. The higher a frequency is, the more is lost over distance. This applies to splitters too. In reality, a cable modem is probably losing more like 4 to 5db when passing through this same splitter."
1. Splitters are bad

2. Old splitters are worse

3. New splitters are better

4. No splitters are best of all

Colbert Bashes Today Show And Good Morning America

Perfect.

Shrubs too close


Shrubs too close by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

When will landscapers stop planting shrubs too close to the foundation on new construction? Oh it looks nice now, but shrubs grow, and then it gets all unwieldily.

These are new condos by Jamaica Pond.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

San Jose Living, Shopping and Dining

Santana Row:
"Welcome to Santana Row, the South Bay's premier living, shopping and entertainment destination. Much more than a collection of stores, Santana Row is a vibrant community of luxurious apartments, distinctive condominiums, exciting shops, pampering spas, and a full-service hotel. "
Will I have time to visit?
links for 2006-07-26

Look Who's on the Bus with Jerry!


Look Who's on the Bus with Jerry! by stevegarfield, uploaded from flickr.

Can you name them all?

From It's JerryTime! Strange Trip.

Who Wants to Be a Superhero?

'Who Wants to Be a Superhero?' Who Doesn't?:
"Cell Phone Girl's superpowers consist of the ability to teleport from one active cellphone to another; eyes that can take digital photos; the ability to download any information available on a computer (e.g., learn Japanese on the fly); the ability to use cellphone waves to move physical objects; and the ability to fire beams from her cellphone. Her weaknesses? She loses her powers in areas with no cellphone service (e.g., valleys or tunnels) and she must recharge daily. "
Who Wants to Be a Superhero - SciFi Channel.

My 80 Year Old Mom Got A Cell Phone

My 80 year old mom got a new cell phone.

She couldn't open it.

The kind employees at Radio Shack had to open the package for her at the store. Then they had to open the back of the phone up to read the number off the battery to activate the phone.

Then she got this in her email:
Before you can start talking on your new phone, you'll have to program it first. If you haven't donethat yet, follow the simple steps below.

1. Turn on your phone.
2. Using the keypad, dial ##VIRGIN (that's#-#-8-4-7-4-4-6). Hit OK to select Service.
3. You are now in the programming menu. Select Edit and hit OK.
4. If any numbers appear on this screen, delete them by pressing the BCK key. Enter your 10-digit phone number. Then hit OK.
5. If any numbers appear on this screen, delete them by pressing the BCK key. Enter your 10-digit network ID (skip any zeros at the beginning). Then hit Done.
6. The phone will turn off and spring back to life on its own.
7. That's it - you're done. Nice work.

It might take a couple of hours to get you set up on our network, so we’ll send a text message to your phone to let you know when you can start
talking.
Somehow she got through that.

I just called her on a land line.

I had to tell her that, yes, she needs to leave the phone on if she wants to receive calls.

So she had to turn on the phone. Pressing the RED button does that. Ironic.

I called her cell phone.

She couldn't answer it.

I told her that presing the RED button does not answer the phone, it shuts it off.

It actually makes sense that pressing the RED button would answer the phone since it's the button you press to turn it on. Unfortunately it's also the same button you press to turn it off.

So we got through that and she answered my call.

Next up I asked if she knew how to call me.

No.

She couldn't dial it.

The guy at the store programmed in my phone # but didn't show her how to make a call, didn't show her how to use the contacts list, and didn't show her how to dial.

So I had her key in my number, and backspace when she made a typo, and press the green button to dial me.

"Hello Ma. Yup. It works. Now hang up since this is costing you money."

She's on the 18 cents/minute plan.

Lee Hopkins Tuna Casserole Recipe


Chris Brogan was telling me about Lee Hopkins yesterday and I just came across him on Bryan Person's blog.

After following a few links bloggy style, I ended up here, Eight essential people skills. Good reading.

Lee Hopkins seems to be famous for tuna casserole too. Lee Hopkins likes tuna casserole. Now even more so. ;-)

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Reporting for CNN

CNN.com - Send an I-Report:
"Is news happening in front of your eyes? Pull out your camera and I-Report it for CNN. Use the form on this page to send files from your computer."
via [ LP ]

Eskimo Witch


Blogumentary: Designers: Call for Entries:
"Design a logo for my new vlog project, ESKIMO WITCH.

Chuck, that sounds great. What is your new vlog about?
Sandra, thanks for the question. ESKIMO WITCH is going to be an experimental comedy playground. Disturbing yet fun - like putting your head in a blender... with my head. You can unexpect moments of sincerity and audience participation! (Heh, yeah that's right, I totally said unexpect!!!!)"
Brr Boo!

Tag:
links for 2006-07-25
  • The Wikimapia (no formal relation to the 'pedia or 'media wiki's) allows flickr note style hot spots to be added to the google maps to describe the world.
    (tags: map)

The World is Talking

Global Voices Online.

Yahoo does Video

Behold The Power of Yahoo. Kevin Nalty got his video featured on Yahoo!.

Here's what happened:
here’s what happened in the partial day “Lay Me Off” was featured:

* More than 636,000 views (that’s 50% of the total views I’ve gotten on ALL of my videos on YouTube to date)
* “Lay Me Off” in one day on Yahoo surpassed the total views of YouTube’s most popular video of the week, which has been featured for 6 days.
* Average rank: 2.5 (polarized ratings- mostly one or five stars)
* 2511 ratings and comments (.004 percent of the people commented)
Wow.

I guess I'll try Vlog Soup: Episode 16 on Yahoo! Video.

Neat Flickr Badge

stevegarfield. Get yours at flagrantdisregard.com/flickr
via [ Abby ]

Jay Rosen has a New Assignment

PressThink: Introducing NewAssignment.Net:
"Enterprise reporting goes pro-am. Assignments are open sourced. They begin online. Reporters working with smart users and blogging editors get the story the pack wouldn’t, couldn’t or didn’t. They raise the money too."

Is this about unleashing open source journalism, or hiring reporters to get the story?

Rather than proclaim one over the other, give us the advantages of both. I think this is what people listening to the conversation about citizens media want to see. And they’re right to want that. They are also saying: stop with the proclamations, on with the demonstrations. Let’s see the work. What can networked journalism, as Jeff Jarvis now calls it (“professionals and amateurs working together to get the real story”) actually do?
Let's do it.

I'm Dabbling in Dabble


Mary Hodder and CC Chapman invited me to try out Dabble.

So I did.

Here's my first playlist:
My Playlist 'Vlog Soup 16' | Dabble.

This is pretty sweet. It brings up a framed page that lets you watch each of videos I highlighted in yesterday's Vlog Soup.

Really sweet!

Monday, July 24, 2006

Vlog Soup is on!


Episode 16 of Vlog Soup is up This week it's FUNNY.

We start off with my friends Juan and Ximena, They are AMAZING, then some OFFICE fans have their own Dunder Mifflin SD Office Party in San Diego, next Tristin Homer and his two roommates watch The Game. There's a special treat for you if you go visit their blog and look at the video comment I left for them. Next up it's Borat! You gotta love him. I do. It's a preview for his new movie. I know it's not a vlog, but it's funny! After that my friend Jerry takes a trip to Gettysburg.

Bonus footage is a new video from Amanda Congdon! Enjoy!

New Amanda Congdon Video


Amanda Unboomed: Where are they now?

Jerry Goes to Gettysburg


It’s JerryTime! - THE STRANGE TRIP

Crazy Insane Mouse Pointer Kite

I've been emailing back and forth with Tim of Wind Fire Designs. He has the Mouse Pointer kite on his site. I first saw it on Lisa Williams blog and blogged about it here. Then I passed it along to Rocketboom and Bre Pettis as a good story idea.

The kite then ended up on Rocketboom today and Make Magazine's blog.

I asked Tim about all the exposure.

He emailed me back with the info that he is sending people when they contact him:
Thanks for the interest in our products.

So you are wondering about the cost of the cursor kite.

Well, in a way, so are we.... you see, to us the WindFire Cursor is a work of art with a strong performance potential. Currently, there are only two in the world. Thus, to us it is priceless. It is an asymmetrical Quad-line kite. This means it is highly controllable but also rather difficult to fly - let alone assemble. This is not your every day kite and not the kind of kite you can just buy and take out to fly. WindFire Designs does make a number of high end kites that we sell direct to consumers, http://www.windfiredesigns.com/buywindfiredesigns.html and we also have a product that is available to mass market the Air-YO http://www.air-yo.com
For now at least, the WindFire Cursor is our magic trick. The kite is not for sale -- yet.

What can be done?

We are available for hire to perform with them (and all of our kites) at anything you can dream up. We specialize in kite performance and we can fly in all kinds of unlikely places. http://www.windfiredesigns.com/Why-we-fly.html

Sincerely,

Tim Elverston & Ruth Whiting
WindFire Designs

PS. Stay posted for the next kite in the WindFire OS series........
very cool.

Update:
Now on boingboing.
links for 2006-07-24

Free Videos Online


This free video site just went public Gotuit Media.

It's got music, sports, news & movie videos online.

I'm not even sure where you can watch music videos on TV, so here's a place you can get to watch artists you like on demand.

Here's an example: Rhiana SOS Video.

News is also good, where you can watch short video reports from around the world. Lebanon and Israel are featured right now.

In sports, if you click on Cheerleader Tryouts, check out Rachel's First Routine or Swimsuit Calendar, you get New ENgland Patriot cheerleaders. Go Pats.

I like the coming attractions too. Check out Zoom. Nice use of music in that one.

It's got a flash interface, so it WORKS on a Mac. Thank you.

Sign Up for Citizen Journalism UnConference

Signup: Citizen Journalism UnConference Aug. 7.

via [ Dan Gillmor ]

Cooking For Engineers

I can never understand why computer programmers say, "I don't cook."

Cooking is following directions. It's logical. Like computer programming.

Isn't it?

Now there's Cooking For Engineers.

Maybe this will help some programmers make cupcakes?
via [ Scoble ]

Once you get the hang of it you can improvise and do some spaghetti cooking.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Miss Universe, Lauriane Gillieron, Miss Switzerland 2006


Miss Universe - 2006 photos.

My pick.

Miss Puerto Rico crowned Miss Universe.
Miss USA Tara Conner was the contest's fourth runner-up. Also finishing in the top five were second runner-up Lauriane Gillieron of Switzerland and third runner-up Lourdes Arevalos of Paraguay.

The Video Channel is Fab


Fabchannel.com - Live concerts online.
This is a very cool Flash interface for showing archived videos.

Madness! Lola. Too bad I can't see how to post a permalink to this exact song.

links for 2006-07-23

Free Podcasting Workshop

YarisWorks | Events:
"Participants will be introduced to the exciting world of podcasting and shown some of the best work out there. The participants will then be able to have their individual works critiqued, followed by a workshop on audio editing in which they will have the chance to edit their own audio."
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM, July 27, 2006
@ Great Scott
1222 Commonwealth Ave
Harvard St. & Commonwealth

Lineage Restaurant Brookline


Last night we ate at Lineage Restaurant in Brookline, just across from Trader Joe's.

It was our first time trying this restaurant and we had a fun time.

The staff was great. We sat at the bar. When we arrived the temperature in the room seemed as cold as the inside of a refrigerator, but we got a couple of seats right in front of the brick oven and soon warmed up.

Lineage has a big wine list. I chose to try an Irony, Pinot Noir, but they were out of it, so they gave me a Mark West Pinot at the same price. I really liked this wine. I liked it so much in fact that after we ate, we dropped in to Trader Joe's and I bought a bottle for $8.99.


Turns out that Mark West has a little revolution going on.

For dinner, I had the Pan Roasted Halibut, and Carol had the Grilled Wild Salmon which was served with sweet 100 tomatoes and eggplant.

Both were excellent.

I was intrigued by the Butterscotch Pudding on the desseert menu, but didn't order it. Then as a surprise, our friendly bartender delivered a sample Butterscotch Pudding for us to try.

Lineage Restaurant in Brookline rates five stars in my book. We'll be back.

Christopher Herot's Weblog - Lineage review.

Boston Phoenix - Lineage Review.

Dodge has Low Caliber Visibility

This is what The Boston Globe says today in it's car review, 2007 Dodge Caliber is a sleek, gas-saving crossover that dealers can't keep in stock.
I rented a Dodge Caliber in Hawaii.

It has poor visibility.

I'm used to driving a VW New Beetle. I'm spoiled. The Beetle has so much glass on it that you feel like you're driving around inside a pyrex bowl.


When you're in the Dodge Caliber it feels like you are inside a tank. At least that's my impression, never having been inside a tank.

Grasshopper, I am your friend


Chris Brogan is gearing up Grasshopper New Media with graphics.

Sweet!

Cursor Kite


Photos of this kite that looks just like a mouse-pointer cursor arrow are at WindFire Designs.

Does anyone know where you can buy this kite?
via [ Lisa Williams ]

Update:
If we read the site again it says:
"Very little is known about this kite. Sighted here at Burning Man 2005, it seems to be bringing the desktop of your computer outdoors (pfff, finally). ...Carefully designed by Tim Elverston, this high-end addition to the WindFire collection marks the beginning of the WindFire OS Series."
How can 'very little be known' AND 'be carefully designed by Tim'.

It can't.

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Borat is the new Mahir


Mahir's Original web page - Welcome to my home page ! Kiss you !!!!!!!!!!!! - 1999.


Official Borat Homesite - 2006

Internet Phenomenon - Wikipedia.

Storm Large - Tainted Love

Storm Large Tainted Love (audio/mpeg Object) [mp3]

Storm Large Fan-Boy Pages

Storm Large Photos, MP3, Video Downloads.

Storm Large Free Song Download

Storm Large - Thank God.mp3 (audio/mpeg Object) [mp3]
links for 2006-07-22

Frost and Tip

Choose Her Hairstyle


hair by bunchofpants, uploaded from flickr.

Learn Photo Lighting


Photoflex Lighting School.
via [ Unmediated ]

Learn video vlog


Videogrunt:
"videogrunt is the video podcast that illustrates the basic terms and technologies of digital video"
This is a cool tech geek vlog for people who want to learn video by watching video.

Mac Spoof: Performance

Storm Large - Pinball Wizard (Rockstar Supernova)

Friday, July 21, 2006

links for 2006-07-21

Do we really need these panels?

Tunnel Reopened After Scaffolding System Installed:
"Gov. Mitt Romney reopened the Ted Williams Tunnel Friday after officials installed a temporary scaffolding system to support ceiling panels that officials said could pose a risk to public safety."
I've got a few questions:

1. Do we really need these panels?

2. If we need the panels, can't we install some lighterweight panels?

Electric Car with iPod Dock


Tesla Motors Roaster is 100% electric, goes 0 to 60 in about 4 seconds and gets 250 miles per charge.

Their FAQ answers the question most people will have about this groundbreaking electric car:
Does the Tesla Roadster's stereo have a mini jack so I can plug in my iPod?

Even better! The Tesla Roadster allows you to connect your iPod to the stereo using Apple's dock connector which not only charges your iPod but also gives you basic control of your iPod using the controls on the stereo. This way the iPod can sit safely in the tray under the center console while you play, pause, skip, fast-forward or reverse using your stereo controls.
Thanks Eric.

The One: Season Pass Deleted



I've deleted my TiVo Season Pass for The One.

Now that Jadyn Maria is gone, I have no reason to watch the show anymore.

Jadyn is really great in her Herbal Essence TV commercial. Why wasn't she as good on The One? Nerves? Production values?

The One has got to be one of the most poorly produced network shows of all time.

They had sound issues on the first show, and I figured that they would be addressed. they weren't.

In the introduction to the last show, you could hardly hear the host. Strombo, we hardly knew you. The music was too loud.

Then when Jadyn Maria sang, there was still something wrong with the audio. The One is no American Idol.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

links for 2006-07-20

YouTube Viral Video Broker


Kevin Nalty: YouTube Viral Video Broker.

I Am Who I Am


Just following Eric Rice and CC Chapman.

Jadyn Maria Represents


Jadyn Maria is represented by the William Morris Agency.

Hopefully we'll actually be able to hear her sing if they get the sound right on The One.

Otherwise we'll just have to listen to her Clairol commercial on YouTube. Over and Over and Over again.
Jadyn Maria Herbal Essences Ad

Thanks to a commenter on my previous post about The One, you can watch Jadyn's Herbal Essence ad on YouTube.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

DJ Ted Stevens Techno Remix

A video of the "Ted Stevens Internet is a series of Tubes" remix.

I am now addicted to embedding video.

Zefrank compiles the news


07-19-06 the show with zefrank.
This is the future of news.

Really.

Ze explains things in an entertaining way.

People watch.
links for 2006-07-19

Gorgeous Girls Videoblogging

I just collaborated with a writer from the Sacramento Bee. They used to call it 'being interviewed' but the way I look at it these days is that I'm working with them to provide research and content for their article on a no-fee basis.

This is probably going to be the pull quote:
"Why would I susbcribe to a video blog of a gorgeous girl who has nothing to say?"
I subscribe to people who have authentic stories to tell!


These are my current Fireant subscriptions. I also subscribe to others in Bloglines.

Stand Up to Bush

Political Wire: Bayh Urges GOP to Stand Up to Bush:
Yesterday, the Senate passed legislation expanding federal support for stem cell research. In an exclusive to Political Wire, Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) urges Republicans to fight President Bush's expected veto.

"Rarely in Washington do we have a vote with such broad bipartisan support. Fortunately, most members of Congress recognize that this bill is more important than partisan politics. Almost every family has been or will be affected by disease in some way -- whether it is juvenile diabetes, Parkinson's, ALS, spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis or, in my family's case, cancer."
The thing that bothers me about partisan politics is that when you join a political party, in return for party support, you are expected to vote the party line.

Sometimes the party line goes against what you and your constituents want.

Sometimes we see people stand up for what they believe in. This is the time for Republicans to do what is right and urge President Bush to sign this bill into law.

SCIENCE!

Google Storm Large


This is what you find when you Google Rockstar contestant 'Storm Large':

Storm Large and The Balls.

Storm Large on MySpace.

Photos:
Storm and The Balls by Laura Domela

Storm Large
by Laura Domela

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

The One's

Just watched some of tonight's premiere of ABC's The One.

Three things stood out. The host, a judge and a contestant.


George Stroumboulopoulos - "Multi-hyphenate George Stroumboulopoulos has been an award-winning and extremely popular Canadian television and radio personality for over a decade."

Stroumboulopoulos? Dude, you're no Ryan Seacrest. ;-)


Mark Hudson - "His career as a performer began in the 1970s as one of the members of the Hudson Brothers."

Mark, what the hell are you thinking? You used to be cute.



Jadyn Maria
, age 21, was born in Puerto Rico, then was raised in Nashville, Tennessee.

Jadyn, you are cute. Let's hear you SING!

One thing that bothered me was that you couldn't hear the contestants singing. Over on Rockstar, you can clearly hear those contestants ROCK!

Every Cell Phone as Citizen Media

MediaShift - Digging Deeper: Stanford Fellow Imagines Every Cell Phone as Citizen Media Outlet | PBS. Mark Glaser interviews Erik Sundelof a Reuters Digital Vision Fellow at Stanford University:
It’s a control issue, not wanting to give up control. There’s a fear that if there are citizen journalists, then what’s the role of the professional journalists? Someone encroaching on their turf and not being paid anything or being paid very little. So the professionals are afraid their whole purpose is disappearing but I don’t think it’s really true.

Sundelof: They have a clearer purpose because they can actually focus on bigger events and present more well thought out articles…Events like Rodney King and similar events, it’s really interesting to have cell phones as part of the scene. Because it’s much harder to get away with that if you have 40 people with cell phones sending it in. You can’t say, ‘No, it was not police brutality.’ Well we have 40 different people saying they saw it — with proof.

I really see an opening here for citizen contributions. The key here is that the media organizations need to realize they are losing control. They can’t really control [the news] now because people are posting this stuff to other blogs. I think it would be better to merge traditional reporting with citizen media rather than have a [totally] new media. To take the best of the old fashioned news organizations and bring in the power of the bloggers, because you have so many people investigating. Mix them and you have an extremely good organization and you’ll have content that’s really important in finding out the truth.

How will we ever know?

Tonight on Christopher Lydon's Open Source, From the Israeli Side of the Border.

Joshua Hendrickson writes in the comments prior to tonight's show:
"For me, this whole issue is simply awash in religious insanity, with two Semitic peoples of differing-yet-related monotheistic faiths slaughtering and hating one another and pumping their own sides full of righteous fervor. I think Israelis and Muslims have all behaved abominably over this disputed chunk of “holy” dirt and that the sooner they throw over their ridiculous religious beliefs and recognize the uselessness of their endeavors, the better it will be for everyone. But then, as I well understand, if that were to happen, none of us would be living on planet Earth any longer, but in a godless paradise.
Atheists aren’t perfect, and we have our own reasons for our own despicable behaviors, but by God, God isn’t one of them. For the believer, God is ALL of the reason, and that is just insane. Maybe if the world was populated entirely by secular humanists, our society(ies) would be just as screwed up, just as violent and cruel. But how will we ever know?"
links for 2006-07-18

A Threat to Online Video Producers

Tim Schneider from Public Knowledge just sent me this, The Broadcast Flag and Analog Hole Legislation: A Threat to Online Video Producers | Public Knowledge:
"Do you incorporate broadcast content into video shorts for online viewing? Whether you create a personal video blog, review TV shows, or archive interesting clips of local news, you rely on technology to make your work possible. Legislation currently pending before Congress would sharply limit your ability to record and distribute excerpts of broadcast television and other content over the Internet."
This is important.

Net10 Motorola cellphone


Target : Net10 Motorola Prepaid Cellular Phone - Blue (NTGC139).
- Simply $0.10 a minute, nationwide with no daily fees (international long distance for $.05 more)
- Single rate for every call: local, long distance and no roaming charges

This phone and plan sounds too good to be true for my mom. Only 10 cents/minute with no daily fees?

Update:
Just visited the provider of this plan, Net10.

From their site:
To keep your NET10 Service active, you need to purchase and add a NET10 Airtime card before the due date displayed on your NET10 phone screen when the phone is on. If your NET10 phone runs out of minutes, you will also need to purchase and add NET10 Airtime cards. Your minutes are also displayed on your NET10 phone. The amount of minutes you use is entirely up to you. The adding of additional NET10 Airtime cards extends your active service up to 60, 90, 180 or 365 days from the date the card is added depending on the denomination of the airtime card.
How to keep the phone active:
Purchase a 1,000-minute card to keep service active for 6 months or a 1,500-minute card to keep your service active for 1 year. Please see cards for further details.
Virgin Mobile K10 is a better deal if you don't make many calls. That one is $6.99/month, $83.88/year. And if you make any calls at all, they cost you .10 cents each. If you make one hours worth of calls per month, it'll cost you an additional $72 per year, for a total of $155.88.

This phone, on the other hand, is $150/year on the prepaid 1,500 minute plan. They do give you a free 300 minutes to start, but if you make no calls, it doesn't matter to you.

MTV CEO: 'evolve or die'

Lost Remote: CTAM 2006: MTV CEO tells attendees to 'evolve or die':
"“Our audience wants to participate and wants to leave their mark on the media landscape.”"
Dear MTV CEO,
I'll participate online when you start making MTV Overdrive work on a Mac.
MTV Overdrive uses Windows Digital Rights Management (DRM) to protect videos from unauthorized re-distribution.

Unfortunately, Microsoft's Windows Media Player Plug-in for Macintosh does not support Windows DRM. If DRM support becomes available for Macintosh, MTV will develop a version of MTV Overdrive that works on a Mac.
Thanks,
--Steve

Watch 'Super Size Me' for Free

I received an email this morning asking me to check out yet another video sharing shite, iklipz. In part, the email said:
iklipz is a new social media site for filmmakers and videomakers geared towards building bridges between aspiring filmmakers, audiences and the film industry.
After looking at the people involved, Ed Burns is one, and I like him, I saw that you can watch feature length films on there for free.

Check out SUPER SIZE ME, "one man’s journey into the world of weight gain, health problems and fast food. Winner of "Best Director Award, 2004"- Sundance Film Festival." 100 minutes.

I can even embed it right here on my blog.



This is a smart way to embrace the viral nature of the web. I especially like the fact that the movie doesn't have to sit inside a 'walled garden' and it can live right here on my blog. These people understand that each of us have our own 'homes' on the web that we like to invite people over to. Like Lisa Williams says, "it's my livingroom."

Update:
A little bit of the way into the movie, it has started pausing and then resuming. I just paused it and then resumed playing. Network issues are probably responsible.

What kind of performance are you getting?

Update II:
I had to reboot my computer. I'd prefer the ability to download the movie so I could watch it without having to be online. Playing a version off my local hard disk would fix the playback issues.

TagWorld Video Widget



This is the Statue of Liberty lighting technique. Everybody is getting into the video widget business.

This example is the TagWorld Video Recorder Widget. You have to be a member to use it, unlike Hellodeo.


On a Mac with Firefox, there is no cursor visible to guide you in entering your username/password.

After recording your video, you can display the code to copy and paste it into your blog. But using hte supplied copy button disn't work for me. I manually had to copy and paste the code in using the Mac copy and paste keyboard commands.

There are some options to format your video's title text color and background. I kinda liked the preview format better than the final version you see here.