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Saturday, December 31, 2005

Video links for 2005-12-31

JD Lasica's Real People Network


JD Lasica's Real People Network quietly launced today.

It won't be quiet for for long.

Year in Review Meme

Abby gets me to participate in this Year in Review Meme with this post:
I went in search of a Year in Review Meme, and one seemed kind of neat. It suggests taking your first post from each month of the year, then taking the last section of it and posting it all in a single list. So that’s what I’m doing. Right… NOW!
As I'm going through my posts from the past year, only looking at the first post from each month, where I actually wrote something, I'm finding alot of interesting things:

1. Reality TV puts real people in artificial situations. It's time for a show featuring real people in real situations.

2. I wonder how long it'll take for Oprah to call (my mom)?

3. Now I'm taking my own advice and backing up my whole hard disk.

4. Imagewell is worth the trip over there. This tiny application is going to save me 8,000 hours creating blog posts.

5. Allowing people to park on Storrow Drive is stupid.

6. Carol never thought The Carol and Steve Show would get on TV.

7. In this episode, Steve shows Carol how to start up the Weber Grill. Sparks fly!

8. We are going to get every single person on the panel and in the room to see that the future of easily sharing stories with video is here now with videoblogging.

9. Rockstar INXS is my favorite TV show right now. It's the one show that I watch almost live. After my TiVo records about 20 minutes of it, I'm watching.

10. Working with WordPress.com feels fluid.

11. I love Imogen Heap.

12. The iTunes Music Store now features video podcasts.

Above the law?

MiamiHerald.com | 12/26/2005 | Fear destroys what bin Laden could not:
"It's time for every member of Congress to weigh in: Do they believe the president is above the law, or bound by it?"

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Node101: Vlogger Shirts


Michael Verdi just let us know about some new Node101 shirts he's selling to support Freevlog & NODE101.

Top 50 Music Videos Of 2005


Thomas H?yrup Christensen of DoCopenhagen has just posted his Top 50 Music Videos Of 2005 with links to each video.

Wow!

This is going to take some time to go through.

Note: DO NOT WATCH the first video, Aphex Twin - Rubber Johnny.

Travel via Kayak


Scott Johnson says:
Kayak is a search engine for travel that Gary Price turned me onto that has literally saved me probably thousands of $$$ and is so far superior to Expedia / Yahoo Travel / Travelocity that its astonishing. I really hope that this company makes it.
I'll have to try it next time I'm traveling.

FuzzyBlog -Predictions for 2006

Scott Johnson over at FuzzyBlog makes his Predictions for 2006 including this one:
"Steve will break into Network TV"
Thanks Scott. I won't forget you!

KBCafe Blog Awards: Best Video Blog Nomination


My Video Blog has been nominated for Best Video blog over at The KBCafe Blog Awards.

Please vote for me! If you feel like voting, go ahead. Thanks.

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Things that are really good

1. Paul McCartney's new CD, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard. Thanks Kim!

2. Comcast On Demand NFL Patriots Games extended highlights. Watch a missed game in 10 minutes!

3. Anchorman, The Legend of Ron Burgundy. This movie is cameo city including brief appearances by Jack Black and Ben Stiller.

DVD to iPod

With HandBrake Lite you only really need to click two buttons to rip a DVD for iPod. It's as easy as that.

Resolutions for 2006

This is not an exclusive list, but one that contains some of the major areas that I plan on working on in 2006.

1. Direct Shipment of Wine to Massachusetts
Thankfully Governor Romney defeated the restrictive bill that was sent to him at the end of the year. Hopefully a better version will come out in the new year. I'll continue to contact my legislators and express my views, even though some of them don't want to hear from me. [ Free the Grapes ]

2. No Parking on Storrow Drive
Every summer, a few hundred cars are allowed to park along Storrow Drive during outdoor events. This disrupts thousands of people trying to get through the city. It is insane! It must stop! I will not rest until parking on Storrow Drive is stopped.

3. Change for Change
Our coinage is stupid. There are no numerals on there. Take a look at the Euro for a good example of how coinage should be designed. I will not rest until US Currency gets numbers on it. 5/10/25/50 Yay! [ Change for Change ]

4. Rocketboom
I produced a number of field reports for Rocketboom from Boston this year and plan do produce a lot more. I'm looking for interesting and quirky technology stories.

5. Node 101 and Citizen Media
I'm going to set up a local citizens media gathering place in Jamaica Plain at Sweet Finnish. It'll be a place for people to learn about videoblogging and citizen media. People will be taken through the continuum: watch, learn, create, and teach. Watch for more details after the first of the year.
[ Node101, Center for Citizen Media, Pulse Point ]

6. Bank of America
Ever since bank of America swallowed Fleet Bank, service has declined. In contrast to Bank of America's TV commercials stating that their goal is to make ATM transactions faster, ATM transaction now take a lot longer. Fleet bank used to have a Fleet Cash option to deduct a previously saved amount from your account by entering your PIN and then pressing Fleet Cash. Now you have to enter your PIN and press a whole bunch of menu items and buttons to get cash out of the ATM. It's not faster, it's slower. Also, you can't get stamps anymore. I've contacted them in many different ways and will not rest until they fix this.

7. Videoblogging Education
I will continue to teach videoblogging at CCTV in Cambridge and work with Ravi Jain to enhance the class with the goal of taking it on the road.

8. I Subscribe To People Video Network
The big idea here is to create a network of shows that are an alternative to big media. I'll be working with local comedians, musicians, writers and creative people to develop a regular schedule of shows. Contact me if you are interested.
[ I Subscribe To People ]

9. Behind the scenes reporting
I really enjoyed some of the behind the scenes video projects that I worked on last year including the video reports that I did for evolvetv.tv [ 1, 2 ] I'm looking to do more of the same in 2006.

10. Photography
Although I'm focused on video, I plan to spend more time learning how to use the advanced features of my digital camera. Back in the old days all you had to know was speed and aperture. [ flickr ]

Free Blogger Template Generator


The PsycHo: Free Blogger Template Generator looks both weird and interesting.

Let me know if you try it.

A real-time view of digg

digg spy lets you watch the ever changing ratings of stories on digg.

TechEncyclopedia vlog definition is wrong

Here's the TechEncyclopedia definition of vlog:
"vlog
techweb
(Video bLOG) A Weblog (blog) that provides a video journal on a subject rather than text entries. A link to a video on a regular text blog is not a vlog. Vlogs are short video entries that take the place of text and are typically listed in chronological order like a text blog. Also called a "vog" or "vog blog." ""
It's wrong.

WHERE THIS DEFINITION IS WRONG
vlog
techweb
(Video bLOG) A Weblog (blog) that provides a video journal on a subject rather than text entries.
WRONG

A link to a video on a regular text blog is not a vlog.
WRONG

Vlogs are short video entries
WRONG

that take the place of text
WRONG

and are typically listed in chronological order
WRONG

like a text blog. Also called a "vog" or "vog blog."
SO WRONG

I sent them my proposed revised entry: http://www.computerlanguage.com/contactus.htm

MY REVISED ENTRY
"(Video bLOG) A Weblog (blog) that includes video. Vlog posts are listed in reverse-chronological order like a text blog."


Update:
The editor of the dictionary emailed me and is changing the definition inthe January edition.

Free The Books!

LibriVox adds audio to public domain books:
"LibriVox volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain, and then we release the audio files back onto the net (podcast and catalog). Our objective is to make all books in the public domain available, for free, in audio format on the internet."
via [ Dave ]

Acetaminophen can kill

Popular painkiller becomes life-threatening poison when overused:
"Think popping extra pain pills can't hurt? Think again: Accidental poisonings from the nation's most popular pain reliever seem to be rising, making acetaminophen the leading cause of acute liver failure."

Podcaster Conference 2006


PodcasterCon.org
I like the way that they are organizing this.

WordPress 2.0 is out

The amount of steps on the Upgrading WordPress page makes me want to do it later. Much later.

10 Things You Should Know About WordPress 2.0

I did not know that.

Yule Menorah


Steve Garfield's Video Blog: Yule Menorah:
"With all the excitement over the portable Yule Log, I decided to film a time lapse video of a Menorah, with burning candles, set to the music of The LeeVees.

Andrew Baron calls it a Yule Menorah!"
Happy Hanukkah!

Update:
Watch for this video on New England Cable News - NECN tomorrow morning at 8:38 AM.

The speaking slots are paid for

Dave Winer writes about Commercialism at conferences:
"Now the paid-for speaking slots thing happens all the time, everywhere you go, it's the norm in tech conferences."
Speaking slots are paid for? The next thing Dave will tell us is that Reality TV isn't real.

I went to the first two Bloggercons. They were a breath of fresh air. They raised the bar for any conference or meeting I've attended since.

The first vloggercon last year didn't have any paid speakers, in fact, we were the speakers. We hope to have the second vloggercon in April. Plans are under way.

Monday, December 26, 2005

links for 2005-12-26

2006: Vlogs

MercuryNews.com | 12/25/2005 | Top 10 tech trends for 2006:
"Video comes to blogs to begat vlogs. For anybody who's getting tired of reading all those wordy blogs (short for Weblogs) posted on the Internet on every conceivable niche topic, video comes to the rescue. If a picture is worth a thousand words, video might be worth even more. Now anyone can subscribe to vlogs and have the latest installments automatically delivered to the computer desktop (and transferred to a portable player, such as the video iPod)."

Book Review of Bush


"The Next Attack," by Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon- Book Review - New York Times:
"In the real world - and the United States exists in the real world, despite a national weakness for wishful thinking - failure has consequences. The prospects for American success in Iraq, which do not look promising, are the consequence of a cascading series of previous, all-too-familiar failures - the failure to heed intelligence warnings before 9/11, the failure to press the hunt for Osama bin Laden until he was caught, the failure to think twice before invading Iraq, the failure to send enough troops to establish security once the Iraqi Army quit fighting, the failure to recognize the growing insurgency until it was too big to crush, the failure to begin building an Iraqi Army and police services in a timely manner, the failure to foresee that a war in Iraq would draw jihadists from every corner of the Islamic world. . . ."
via [ JD ]

Sunday, December 25, 2005

A New Boat


Cousin Mike told us about his new Fisher 37.

Saturday, December 24, 2005

Video: Christmas Lights


Steve Garfield's Video Blog: The Carol and Steve Show - Episode 53: Christmas Lights:
"A house in Boston, known as The Castle, had a Christmas display featuring 100,000 lights this year."
links for 2005-12-24

TOP TEN of 2005

TV Show that I watched on TiVo
- The Office, US Version
Hey, it won me over. Runners up: LOST, Extras, Curb

Coverage of videoblogging by the media
- I Like To Watch, Mike Milliard, The Boston Phoenix 12/15/05

Tech Un-Conference I attended
- TIE: Vloggercon 1/22/05
- Gnomedex, Seattle June 23-25 [ Video 1, 2 ].

Videoblog site I developed
- It's JerryTime!

Music
- Best CD: Imogen Heap, Speak For Yourself. I have her new CD on my iPod, Mac, bedside CD radio, and in both cars.
- Best Concert: - U2 TD Banknorth Garden [ Video ]


Vacation
- Sandals [ Video ]
- Runner up, Nantucket. [ Videos 1, 2, 3 ]


Rocketboom Report
- MIT Time Traveller Convention. [ Video ]


Business Trip
- Apple, Akimbo, Eric Rice.


Berkman Weblog Meeting
- The ICA Art Mob [ Video featured on Rocketboom ]


Jeans
- Nautica
YKK makes a horrible zipper. It was ok until I got my new Nautica jeans and discovered how a zipper with more area to hold on to made a huge difference. Think about it. You wouldn't know you hated your zipper, if all you knew up until this point was a crappy little zipper.

Friday, December 23, 2005

Send to a friend WordPress plugin

Send to a friend WordPress plugin allows users to send the page they’re looking at to a friend, colleague or someone special.

This is cool!

I just got the WordPress send-to-a-friend plug in working over at It's JerryTime!

When you get over there, try it out by clicking the "send-to-a-friend" link at the top of the page.

At first it didn't work because the installation instructions say:

add < ?php StaF_html(); ?> some where in your sidebar and try it

That isn't right.

The correct code to enter is:



You've got to remove the leading space.
links for 2005-12-23

Faster speeds in 2006

Terry Heaton has some predictions for 2006, TV News in a Postmodern World, 2006: The Unbundled Awakening:
"Another important milestone for online video will be reached in 2006 when Comcast begins offering 10 megabyte download and 1 megabyte upload speeds for their standard broadband package. At 10 megs down, home viewing of video streams will be smooth and high quality, and this will further drive the convergence of television and the web. It will also make start-up efforts by vloggers more doable, because it won't take as long to upload their products at 1 meg. Symmetrical broadband, where upload and download speeds are equal (and robust) is a sticky business issue that is unlikely to be resolved for some time, but there will be increasing pressure from consumers to move in that direction."
I hadn't heard about this. Looking forward to faster speeds in 2006.

To Vlog or Not to Vlog


They put me on TV in the new RippleCast, To Vlog or Not To Vlog.

It's not online, but can be seen if you subscribe to the RippleCast iTunes Feed.

Define Videoblogging in one sentence

Videoblogging is an easy way for people to post their stories to the internet.

Videoblogging - Adding video to a blog.
- See Videoblogs on Squidoo.

Easy - Blogging makes it easy. No coding involved.
- See FeeVlog.com

People - Any one can do it. No big media needs to be involved.
- See Videoblogging Universe.

Post - By posting your video to a blog, others will be able to link to it. Each blog entry has a permanent link. Each post also allows comments, so discussions can take place about what you have posted.
- See this post's comments. Add yours.

Stories - Everyone has a story to tell. Up till now, they've been stored in shoeboxes. With videobloging these stories can have an audience.
- See MeFeedia.

Internet - These stories can now be viewed by a worldwide audience.
- See VlogMap.

Tell the Truth About the War Video


Unembedded: Four Independent Photojournalists on the War in Iraq:
"“We crossed the lines because we believe it is more important to humanize a conflict than it is to trade in rhetorical truths, or to reinforce easy notions of enemy and friend, which are mere propaganda.”"

Add Textation to Quicktime Movies

Andrew Baron of Rocketboom uses Textation 1.1.1 QuickTime Text Track Editor for Mac OS X, to add interactivity to Rocketboom's QT videos.

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Clear and present danger

Bruce Feinn writes . . . unlimited?:
"President Bush presents a clear and present danger to the rule of law. He cannot be trusted to conduct the war against global terrorism with a decent respect for civil liberties and checks against executive abuses. Congress should swiftly enact a code that would require Mr. Bush to obtain legislative consent for every counterterrorism measure that would materially impair individual freedoms. "
via [ boingboing ]

Easy Musicplayer For Flash


marcreichelt.de ? Spezial ? Musicplayer (EMFF):
"Anscheinend haben Sie kein Flash Plugin. Bitte installieren Sie sich den aktuellsten Flash Player. "
I like the sample song on the musicplayer web page. ;-)

Niña bereber (berber girl)


Niña bereber (berber girl) by Pixel y Dixel, uploaded from flickr.

I just found this shot on the Flickr: Anti Photo Radar:

"What is an AntiPhoto? An AntiPhoto is more than a photo, is a masterpiece." The photo selections should be made by instinct. most of the times you don't need a reason to love something or someone, there are lots of things impossible to explain. this group meant to be more about feelings than techincal paranoias
Shouldn't flickr disable the blog this menu option if the photos are copyrighted?

Liberty vs. Death

Daily Kos: Open Thread:
"Sen. John Cornyn: 'None of your civil liberties matter much after you're dead.'

Sen. Russ Feingold's retort: 'Give me liberty or give me death.'"

Affiliate Network | Reuters Labs


More info on the Affiliate Network from Reuters Labs:
"Create a more compelling user experience by adding Reuters video to your site. Our news video player has up to 20 of the latest breaking stories from around the world - updated throughout the day so the content is always fresh. The player is Windows and Macintosh compatible and takes just a few minutes to integrate into your site. Visitors can watch full news stories right in the context of your page; there are no pop-ups or software installs. Player features include fast forward, previous video, next video, play all and volume control with mute capability. During this pilot period, our player is free of charge to any site and may contain advertising."
This is a really great example of how you can use the Brighcove player to distribute your content through an affiliate network.

Are we not citizens?

Jeff Jarvis, who must be a Devo fan, writes Are we not citizens?:
At the Online News Association, the editor of a newspaper’s online site stood up and said passionately, almost tearfully, that she was tired of hearing others refer to themselves as “citizen journalists.” She declared, “I am a citizen, too.” I’ve heard that a few times and I have two replies: First, if you want the citizens to see you as citizens, then you need to be willing to see the citizens as journalists. Second, I ask: What does it mean to be a citizen? What is your role as a neighbor? What are your responsibilities as a member of the community?

The old rule, which I didn’t necessarily buy but just assumed was right, was that journalists should not get involved in their stories. Yet today, that sounds more like the prime directive for crew members of the Starship Enterprise than the ethic of journalists who are supposed to serve their communities. And it sounds like one more way that journalism has tried to separate itself from the public it serves and to set journalists apart from their neighbors.
Must be a Star Trek fan too ;-)

Big Citizens Media News from Dan Gillmor

Coming Soon: Center for Citizen Media | Bayosphere:
"Starting in 2006, I'll be putting together a nonprofit Center for Citizen Media. The goals are to study, encourage and help enable the emergent grassroots media sphere, with a major focus on citizen journalism.

I'm thrilled and honored that the center will be affiliated with two superb universities in a bi-coastal partnership.

* Here on the Pacific Rim, where I live, the center will collaborate with the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. As an I.F. Stone Teaching Fellow, I'll do a class next fall, and my principal physical office will be at Berkeley as well.

* Our Atlantic-facing partner is the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University Law School, where I'll be a Research Fellow. I'll visit there regularly -- at least once a month -- to work with other fellows, faculty and students."
via [ JD ]

Loudblog


Loudblog is a sleek and easy-to-use Content Management System (CMS) for publishing media content on the web. It automatically generates a skinnable website and an RSS-Feed for Podcasting. Just upload your audio/video files, add some notes and links, and you’re done!

Apple Podcasting Server

The Apple Podcast Server in Mac OS X Server v10.4 is based on the popular Blojsom open-source weblog server project.

Check out the Podcast Creation Guide [ pdf ] located at the bottom right of the page which, among other things, explains how to record a podcast with QuickTime Pro, GarageBand or SoundTrack Pro.

TiVo Mpeg2 specs for Rocketboom

TiVo Mpeg2 specs for Rocketboom, Dec 15, 2005

http://www.rocketboom.com/tivo/tivo_specs.zip

Enclosed in zip file:
1. TiVo file specs PDF
2. ffmpegX 0.0.9u TiVo preset for Rocketboom
3. Readme file

Also, here is an overview:

VIDEO:
mpeg2
640x480
5000 kbps
29.9fps
no crop

AUDIO:
mp2
48000khz
256 kbps

Add 2 seconds of black before start of file.
Lower audio volume to about 60% of web based volume (variable).

Most files for RB have been in at around 140-180megs.

Flash video is not a SWF

Josh Kinberg explains:
FireAnt does play SWF files. But Flash video is not a SWF. It is an FLV loaded into a SWF.. often loaded externally via relative link within the Flash file. This type of scenario often breaks syndication because it cannot be viewed offline or from a local hard drive. Syndicating the raw FLV file is preferrable as it doesn't require any dependencies on networked resources, but it is a little more difficult to play as FLV doesn't play natively within Flash player -- it must be loaded inside a SWF controller.

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Helping Bloggers Succeed

Performancing.com.
They've got a new blogging firefox extension and some nice tips on working with WordPress.

Vlog Soup 10



This is what the timeline looks like for the new episode of Vlog Soup #10 my free video tour around the vlogosphere.

Coming in at 10 minutes, I show you video clips of my favorite videos from the past week.

This week I show you thirteen videos.

Media is relationships and conversation

Jeff Jarvis writes The first of a new breed:
"Media in the future is not just content and not distribution but relationships.

You’ve heard me say until you’re blue in the face that media is conversation. It always should have been, only now it can be."

Video: Christmas Tree


Video: The Carol and Steve Show - Episode 52 - Christmas Tree:
"City dwellers Carol and Steve choose not to get a fresh tree for Christmas this year, and instead, decorate a tabletop metal tree."

Bush’s Snoopgate


Jonathan Alter explains Bush’s Snoopgate in Newsweek National News on MSNBC.com:
"The president was so desperate to kill The New York Times’ eavesdropping story, he summoned the paper’s editor and publisher to the Oval Office. But it wasn’t just out of concern about national security."

Monday, December 19, 2005

DriveTime: Episode Ten


Watch the most recent episode of Ravi Jain's DriveTime: Episode Ten.

Stay with it until the end.

An SNL Digital Short


Watch Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell in The Chronic of Narnia Rap.
At the time of this post, over 46,000 views.
via [ boingboing ]

Rich Internet Applications


Backbase - Rich Internet Applications.
"Backbase develops and sells software that helps you to create great AJAX applications."

Check out their AJAX RSS Reader demo.

James Madison didn't use a teleprompter

President's Address to the Nation:
Next week, Americans will gather to celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah. Many families will be praying for loved ones spending this season far from home -- in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other dangerous places. Our nation joins in those prayers. We pray for the safety and strength of our troops. We trust, with them, in a love that conquers all fear, in a light that reaches the darkest corners of the Earth. And we remember the words of the Christmas carol, written during the Civil War: "God is not dead, nor [does] He sleep; the Wrong shall fail, the Right prevail, with peace on Earth, goodwill to men."

- George Bush in a televised speech to the nation, December 18, 2005
James Madison Quotes On Church And State:
"We are teaching the world the great truth that Govts. do better without Kings & Nobles than with them. The merit will be doubled by the other lesson that Religion flourishes in greater purity, without than with the aid of Govt"

- James Madison in a letter to Edward Livingston, July 10, 1822.
Michael Sullivan via email:
Just once it would be nice to have a President not read words but SAY them.

- Michael Sullivan in an email to Steve Garfield, December 19, 2005

Universal audio/video transcoder


MediaCoder - The universal audio/video transcoder:
"MediaCoder is an open source audio/video batch transcoder, putting together many excellent audio/video softwares from the open source community into one friendly GUI."
via [ Michael Meiser ]

Happy Xmas (Hopefully)


Zavi Diaz filmed this last night:

Video: Happy Xmas (Hopefully)

Zadi has an amazing talent for taking the moment that she is in and adding to it, to present a powerful story.

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Quotidian and Seinfeld-esque

LA Times: Tethered in technoculture. 12/18/05:
Check out, for instance, "The Carol and Steve Show," at stevegarfield.blogs.com, which tracks a married couple's quotidian life, complete with laconic electric bass lines between scenes, à la "Seinfeld."
Boston Phoenix: I like to watch. 12/15/05:
The Carol and Steve Show is a charming episodic chronicle of his quotidian adventures with his wife — biking around Nantucket, vacationing in California wine country, eating Thanksgiving leftovers — complete with Seinfeld-esque theme music.

The underground video artists network

VideoArt.net, an international hub of video artists, filmmakers and audiences.

Visit the site instead of reading the RSS

Faruk Ate? wants you to visit his KuraFire Network instead of reading him via RSS on Bloglines.

Nice design.

via [ Halley ]

We've Met the Media, and the Media is Us

An Interview With jadelr and Cristina Cordova of the vlog Chasing Windmills:
"Vlognik: So these characters are not you then? This is not autobiography?

Cordova: Nope.

jadelr: No.

Cordova: It draws from real situations, as does most fiction, but NO thank god they are not us, we're not that interesting or amusing really... or disturbing.

As for our characters: Normal people censor thoughts, act in a more socially acceptable manner. Our characters act out the random thoughts many of us have, but know not to act upon (most of the time). That's what makes it amusing (we hope) and something to which we can all relate (we hope)... at least that's the idea."
I'm glad to hear that the characters are not the actors.

Chasing Windmills.

Alien Podcasting


Podbat: the only podcasting tool with bouncy aliens.

Make a Podcast on a Mac

Potion Factory | Podcast Maker:
"Podcast Maker is a tool for Mac OS X that makes podcasting simple. Novices can become podcasters and professionals can podcast without having to do XML situps. Create enhanced podcasts with your images and links to take your podcast to the next level."
Something to check out.

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Videoblog links for 2005-12-17

Conversations with artists, filmmakers, and designers

David Tames has a new podcast called ArtFilmDesign which features conversations with artists, filmmakers, and designers.

Covergirl


Amy is on the cover of this week's Boston Phoenix.

Yamy!

Wayfaring


Create your own personal map on wayfaring.

I'll try it.

Friday, December 16, 2005

Free The Grapes Updates

This just in from Free The Grapes:
MASSACHUSETTS: GOVERNOR VETOES ANTI-SHIPPING BILL
As previously reported, Governor Mitt Romney sent a letter on November 21 to state legislatures vetoing House Bill No. 4498, commenting on the bill's "anti-consumer effect, as well as its dubious constitutionality." The House and Senate could override the Governor's veto once it returns for a special session, which could be called later in December, or could roll over into the regular session in January.

Among other provisions, the bill prohibits out-of-state wineries from shipping directly to MA consumers if they have been represented by a MA wholesaler within the last six months or if they produce more than 30,000 gallons of wine a year. (Romney's letter said that, according to the MA Department of Agricultural Resources, all MA wineries fall under the 30,000 gallon threshold.)

It's too early to define it

Evan Coyne Maloney writes Purple Fingers Point the Way to Peace:
Whatever the outcome of yesterday's elections, Iraqis and the chances for democracy and peace are the big winners. For the third time in a year, facing the prospect of death, Iraqis turned out to vote in far higher proportions than we Americans do. Some might even say that Iraq, like most societies still in the process of cleansing the bloodstains of tyranny, savors the promise of freedom and democracy far more than we do.
links for 2005-12-16

RAZR V3c , Mac and iSync

HowardForums: Your Mobile Phone Community & Resource - RAZR V3c - Mac Thread (iSync, DUN, BT, etc..)
Well i have finally figured out how to sync my contacts and calenders via bluetooth on my G4 Powerbook and CDMA razr v3c
This might come in handy unless Apple has already updated iSync to include the RAZR V3c.

Apple iSync page.

To get the new version it looks like I need to upgrade my OS. Not sure if I need to do all this if I find a USB cable...

There's this too, OnSync 1.12 - A mobile phone's contacts synchronizer for MacOS X.

And this, Datapilot.

MotoModders Forum
.

Motorola Razr reviews.

Where is The Digital Wave Taking Us?


WGBH Forum Network - XWhaves: Where is The Digital Wave Taking Us?":
"XWhaves is a new component of the Woods Hole Film Festival that offers filmmakers an opportunity to reflect on the impact of new technological developments on the shape and nature of filmmaking. Join members of the new media revolution in an active, open discussion of citizen journalism, personal media, video blogging and the convergence of digital storytelling methods with a new era of novel, inexpensive worldwide distribution and other aspects of the ever-changing landscape of how content gets delivered."
Watch the video.

Wall Street Journal: Videoblogging

Vlogger (noun): Blogger With Video Camera
By DIONNE SEARCEY
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
December 16, 2005; Page B1
"On another vlog, stevegarfield.blogs.com/videoblog/, Steve Garfield screens daily life in his Boston home. He calls it "The Carol and Steve Show," where viewers can watch Mr. Garfield and his wife, Carol, opening Hanukkah gifts or delighting in their leftover Thanksgiving sweet-potato soufflé. The show is in its 51st episode.

For Mr. Garfield, vlogging is an easy outlet for his creative side. It's unlikely a major network would pick up 'The Carol and Steve Show," but the Internet allows him to broadcast his show as much as he wants along with other videos that teach would-be vloggers basic video techniques, as well a show he narrates called "Vlog Soup" pointing out his top picks among new vlogs.

"It's part of the democratization of media," says Mr. Garfield. "It gives people the tools to express themselves and be creative in all different ways."

Mr. Garfield, who in the past produced public-access shows, is making a career, of sorts, out of vlogging, serving as a correspondent for a popular blog (rocketboom.com/vlog) that includes homemade news reports, and he is paid to create vlogs for others.

One of Mr. Garfield's clients is Boston City Councilor John Tobin, whose vlog, votejohntobin.com/blog/Videos, gives regular updates on issues for his constituents. Leading up to the November election Mr. Tobin updated the vlog every day.

Viewers could tune in and watch him point out potholes in neighborhood roadways and show busy intersections where he wanted to install speed bumps. On Election Day, he received 706 hits on his site, nearly double the amount of hits for his vlog in November of the prior year."

Thursday, December 15, 2005

My First Razr Recording


Here's my first video recorded on the Motorola Razr.

I feel like Thomas Edison making the first tinny recording. Watson, come here I need you. I'll probably stick to video cameras for making videos and phone for making phone calls.