Fried Food Is Good For You?

Fried Food Is Good For You? - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

Walter Willett from the Harvard School of Public Health answers the question, "How can it be fried and good for you?" You'll be surprised at the answer. For more Walter Willett, watch Pyramid on a Plate: Italian at Nina Simonds' Spices of Life video blog.

I am using this video to test out the distribution and tracking features of TubeMogul.

Walter had a lot of interesting things to say about healthy eating, but they didn't make it into the final video. So here's the first cutting room floor video from the shoot.

It's interesting to see the quality of the Flash conversion on all the sites too.

http://blip.tv/file/324073
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR7I1JYfbps
http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=873247
http://one.revver.com/watch/349020
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2nwmw
http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1130052163&channel=1130039093
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/746249/fried_food_is_good_for_you/
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=14605338

The original footage was shot on a Nokia N95, 640x480 30 fps, then imported into Final Cut Pro, edited and then exported using Compressor as H.264 800kbps .mov 480x360.

With TubeMogul you enter in your log in information for all the sites, one time only, and then publish. tubeMogul takes care of all the uploading.

You can refresh the page to get the status and then, once the upload is completed, you are presented with the direct URL and the EMBED code.

What's even nicer is that after the videos are uplodaed you can use TubeMogul to track the combined views that your video is getting on all the sites. You're also presented with a chart that shows you graphs and percentages of your viewership. Up or down.

Here's a chart of my combined views on a bunch of sites, not including my main site blip.tv yet ( it'll be included shortly ) blip.tv doesn't have viewership info in their API, nor can you see it publicly on their site. blip.tv and TubeMogul are in discussions on this. I suggested allowing access to blip stats on an individual basis for registered users of blip.tv.



Sad huh? But hey look, 1,700 hits one day... Hmm... that requires some more research.

At Miro they say In Open Video, User-Centric is Key (pt I):

The user centered model is clearly more democratic — no matter where or how a video is published, the viewer can find and watch it. One of our goals with Miro is to make all of the video on the web equally accessible. Where the video is hosted shouldn’t matter to the viewer.

At NewTeeVee Liz Gannes writes that Wallstrip's sale to CBS demonstrat(ed) the power of non-exclusive distribution through widgets and piles of aggregation sites.

Post your video to many sites around the web, or host it in a few places and use the power of social networking to develop an audience.

Maybe a combination of both methods is the way to go.

What do you think?

AIM IM Chat with Roxie Chase

I got a random IM chat request today that started off with "hi" and went from there:

Them: hi
Me: are you a robot?
Them: nope
Them: how are u doing today ?
Me: why do you ask?
Them: i am roxie chase and u ?
Me: I am a robot
Me: are you a Ghost Tracker?
Them: nope, I am a person a living person
Me: are you the daughter of Judge Chase
Them: no
Me: are you on a christian mission to Africa
Them: why did u ask ?
Me: it says so on google
Me: are you a beautiful, petite and spunky poodle girl
Them: yes, am beautiful
Me: that's great, nice chatting, bye
Them: do u have a yahoo messenger ? we can talk there ?
Me: nope. bye.

:-)

Grand Central

Commuters go about their daily routine unaware of the cloverfield that's about to go all Slusho on them on 1-18-08.

The Beatles: 20 songs mixed into 3 minutes

The Echo Nest Lab Casts: Automatic DJ:

"The Echo Nest player is starting to make pretty cool beat-matched mixes. In these 3 minute examples, there are about 20 songs per artist, automatically selected, arranged, and aligned with awesome time-stretch quality. Vote for your favorite."

I think a computer did it. This is very cool.

Zoomer Has Public HTML unlike flickr

TechCrunch Ladies by Thomas Hawk from Zooomr

Photographers wonder why some people use their flickr without a link back or attribution. One reason might be that flickr doesn't make it easy to share.

Oh, it's easy if you want to post your own photo to a web page, there's easy to grab HTML on each photo size, but if you want to post a contacts' photo there's no HTML to grab on the 'All Sizes' page. There is HTML on Zoomer.

Dear flickr,
Please add this feature to all CC licensed photo pages.
Thank you,
--Steve

Pyramid on a Plate #3: Healthy Italian Food Exposed

Pyramid on a Plate #3: Healthy Italian Food Exposed - Originally uploaded on flickr by Spices of Life.

Nina Simonds asked world-renowned nutritionist, Dr. Walter Willett and his wonderful wife, Gail to help show us how to eat healthy at an Italian restaurant

Watch the video: Pyramid on a Plate #3: Healthy Italian Food Exposed.

The Guild - Episode 1: Wake-Up Call

This is great. LOVE IT!

I Didn't Blog Yesterday, I Twittered Though

07/27/2007 - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

I've been blogging here pretty much daily since 2000. Yesterday I didn't post, and my mother just called to ask why.

Well, it was really hot here in Boston yesterday, so I want to Carol's air conditioned office and edited video there. No public internet access though.

I did jump on to her computer to check out twitter. I made a few posts over there.

Over on twitter I post the answers to the question, "What are you doing now?"

Follow me on twitter.

$25,000 for your video pilot

MySpace Looking for the Next “Prom Queen”:

"MySpace and the Producers Guild of America have launched a contest called “The Storyteller Challenge”. The contest will solicit 5-7 minute television pilots from film makers. The entires will be displayed on a dedicated MySpace community page beginning September 4th, 2007. The top two winning entries will each get $25,000 and an opportunity for a development deal with FOX."

There are a lot of opportunities for talented people.

Read the new Pew report on online video consumption [ PDF ].

- 57% of hte online public has used hte internet to watch or download video.

- More than half of online video viewers share links to the video they find with others.

- Professional videos are prefered to amateur productions online, but amateur content appeals to coveted segments of the young male audience.

Are you working on a web based video series? Let me know.

A Picture on Viewing Web Video

The View From Spark - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

Online video proliferation is creating frustration for web users says survey:

The massive explosion in user generated content is creating frustration for internet users according to the latest survey from Kelton Research in the US. With hundreds of thousands of new videos up-loaded each day the on-line video vaults are becoming over crowded and chaotic.

> 96% of Americans do not find the video they are looking for in their initial search, a trend that is likely to be replicated in the UK.
> Over 61% of internet users in the USA feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of video content available.
> 46% of these people choose not to watch online videos because they dread the task of trawling through the multitude of search results.
> Although the hardened internet user may persevere with the maze of search results to find the video they require, the majority of light users often give up their search out of sheer frustration.

If the internet is to provide quality entertainment to the masses in the form of user generated content then it has to become a much more user friendly experience. There are many entertaining videos on the web but these are far exceeded in number by those of low quality and little interest.

Exactly.

The main way I find interesting videos on the web is from recommendations. Other than the people I subscribe to, my recommendations come to me via email, IM, and twitter.

The other way to find interesting video is to visit a curated site. We are going to see a lot of new developments in this area.

Where do you get video recommendations?

Visiting Next New Networks

Tim Shey of Next New Networks writes, Boston media makers in the house:

"Halley Suitt and Steve Garfield stopped by Next New today with Steve’s friend and collaborator David Tamés and hung out with me and the N-Bot for a while (photo by Steve, plus here’s another). It was fun to show Steve around especially — he’s sort of the vlogfather of our operation, thanks to his infectious advocacy for the medium of videoblogging, which has gotten untold numbers of people to pick up their cameras and make something."

Thanks for showing us around Tim. I'm looking forward to working with lots of creative people to do some exciting new things in the video space.

Steve & Amy

Steve & Amy - Originally uploaded on flickr by CC Chapman.

It was great seeing Amy Carpenter at the twitter meetup last night.


Check out Amy Carpenter's paintings at etsy.

The Beatles Timeline

Mashable calls AOL's circaVie the Flickr for Timelines.

Looks similar to a great timeline application at Seattle's Experience Music Project.

I just got started on my timeline, Steve Garfield's Timeline. Made one entry. The directions on the page say that you can add "A link to a slide show or YouTube video about your event."

circaVie opens up a world of possibilities for telling stories. In addition to sharing archived video from the past, you can record a video and talk about a past event. Very exciting.

No Reservations Twitter Meetup

No Reservations Twitter Meetup - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

Kathy Maister of startcooking.com hosted a free screening of No Reservations at the Regal Theater tonight at Fenway.

It was fun hanging out with media makers a Boston Beerworks beforehand.

We left Beerworks about 7:30 so when we got the the theater we ended up sitting in the second row. From that vantage point Catherine Zeta Jones looked like the 50 foot woman. It was your typical love story set in a restaurant. There were some cute scenes and Abigail Breslin did a nice job as the little girl.

I hear the original, Mostly Martha, was better.

New video series for the Web

Scott Kirsner writes: CinemaTech: Original Content for the Web: The Big Questions:

"I think we're seeing the emergence of professional content online that will challenge user-generated content -- something I started talking about late last year. This doesn't mean user-gen video is going to disappear, or that we won't see user-generated viral clips continue to circulate -- just that the professionals are now serious about trying to reach viewers, build long-term relationships, and make money on the Web."

We're also seeing the emergence of semi-pro content too.

This is a niche that sits between amateur and professional. There's a big market here.

Apple Store New York Staircase

Apple Store New York Staircase - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

Watch the video of the Apple Store New York Staircase.

New York Office Building

New York Office Building - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

Hollywood Says Amateur Viral Video is Dead

Net's amateur hour lasted about that long:

"There was a time not that long ago when UGC seemed poised to topple Hollywood, as if anyone with a video camera and a Web connection was deemed a budding Steven Spielberg. But ask yourself this: When was the last time an amateur viral video actually reached viral status?"

What's more valuable, a one shot viral video, or an on going web series that serves and engages a niche audience?

Westin Grand Bahamas - Infinite Pool and Beach

My YouTube Videos

Trying out the new YouTube customizable player. Sweet.

Kitten in a Cupcake

Kitten in a Cupcake - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.
Graphic by Kristen Crusius

To keep things organized, I'm posting news on web video developments over here:

Kittens and Cupcakes.

Steve Across America - NYC

photo credit: Scott Beale

Steve Across America

Carol and Steve Garfield in NYC at BXL
Saturday, July 21, 2007
6:00 PM

BXL Cafe
125 West 43rd Street
New York, New York 10036

Join Carol, Steve and NYC media makers at this great Belgian bar for a few beers.

RSVP at Upcoming:
http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/221963/

CBS to Spread Web Content Everywhere

CBS Aims to Spread Web Content:

"CBS television content will be available through 400 sites on the Internet by the fall, according to executives from the broadcast network's interactive division."

You'll be able to watch CBS content anywhere.
via [ Lost Remote ]

Best Dark Chocolate Brownie Recipe Ever

Nina Simonds of Spices of Life visits the kitchens of America’s Test Kitchen on the day they were trying THIRTEEN recipes for the ‘Best Dark Chocolate Brownie Recipe Ever’!!

Watch the video.

NATO Phonetic Alphabet

Alpha Bravo Charlie Delta Echo Foxtrot Golf Hotel India
Juliet Kilo Lima Mike November Oscar Papa Quebec Romeo
Sierra Tango Uniform Victor Whiskey Xray Yankee Zulu

New Places To Watch Video

The Professionalization of Internet TV:

Next New Networks, ON Networks, Revision3, 60 Frames, Vuguru, Telegraph Ave Productions — what do these companies have in common? They all use Moore’s Law and low-cost distribution over the Internet to disrupt the studio model, in the process building audiences that can rival a small cable channel. They are professionalizing internet TV.

This is the space to be in these days. New content will gravitate to new networks. I have a jacket from two years ago that has this embroidered on the sleeve, "Browse, Search, Subscribe."

There's a new verb that's joining the sentence. Socialize.

We'll find our way to these new hubs of quality programming by socializing with friends. When we get to these new network destinations they'll have all kinds of social contraptions that will allow us to 'join in a conversation'.

Boston's Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market featured on Travelistic

Boston's Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market featured on Travelistic - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

Watch the Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market video on travelistic.

My Beer Drinking Doppelgaenger

Travelistic Video: Land of White Beer.
The Thirsty Traveler, Kevin Brauch, learns the secret of Belgium's wheat beer, with extra yeast to keep it brewing right in the bottle.

Hey, he looks exactly like me in this screenshot from the video. I should be the one in Belgium drinking beer.

Delta Flight Not Delayed

Logan Airport Tower - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

On my flight from Atlanta to Boston tonight, DL680, the pilot got on the intercom after pushing back from the gate. He told us that there were lots of delays heading up to Boston and that he was told that we were going to have to wait 3 1/2 hours before taking off.

He told ground control that it was unacceptable to have us wait in the ground for 3 1/2 hours, and the pilot was able to get us clearance to take off.

Thank you Delta for enabling your pilot to take control and turn a possible nightmare situation into an uneventful flight.

On the way out of hte plane i thanked the pilot for what he had done.

Carol and Steve

Carol and Steve - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

Here's a picture from our last night in the Bahamas. So nice.

Home later today.

VIDEO preview: Why is Iraq in Chaos? NO END IN SIGHT

Opens 7/27 www.noendinsightmovie.com The first film of its kind to chronicle the reasons behind Iraq's descent into guerilla war, warlord rule, criminality and anarchy, NO END IN SIGHT is a jaw-dropping, insider's tale of wholesale incompetence, recklessness and venality.

Under Water - TEN

Under Water - TEN - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

1,000 Frames Per Second

Apple - Pro - Profiles - David Michalek:

"Michalek employed a special high-speed HD camera that’s typically used by the military for ballistic analysis and is capable of recording images at an impressive 1,000 frames per second."

Junkanoo Trumpet Playing Man

Junkanoo Trumpet Playing Man - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

Video: Counting Crows

Counting Crows perform Mr. Jones LIVE at Grand Bahama Island, July 15, 2007.

Captured with an N95. I'm capturing and sharing fleeting moments. Lots of people were. It's good for the band. They did a great job.

After I shot this video we sat in some chairs on the beach about 5 rows back and had a fun time, outside, under the stars...

I'm Thinking

I saw David McCullough this morning.

McCullough said that he gets asked in interviews how much time he spends researching and how much writing.

He says they never ask the most important question, "How much time do you spend thinking?"

That's the most important part McCoullough says.

Video: Junkanoo: Grand Bahama Island

Steve Garfield's Video Blog: Junkanoo: Grand Bahama Island

Steve Garfield Started Blogging on November 18, 1997

The Wall Street Journal recognizes that Blogging is approaching it's 10 year anniversary in the article Happy Blogiversary:

We are approaching a decade since the first blogger -- regarded by many to be Jorn Barger -- began his business of hunting and gathering links to items that tickled his fancy, to which he appended some of his own commentary. On Dec. 23, 1997, on his site, Robot Wisdom, Mr. Barger wrote: "I decided to start my own webpage logging the best stuff I find as I surf, on a daily basis," and the Oxford English Dictionary regards this as the primordial root of the word "weblog."

Just so you know, I started blogging before Jorn Barger: Steve Garfield's Lens on Squidoo:

"From 1997 to 1999, Garfield was a producer and wacky sidekick on the Karlson and McKenzie radio show. Since the mid 1990s, he has been active on the Internet. Garfield hand-coded his own blog from November 18, 1997 to April 1, 1999 as a daily update for Karlson and McKenzie radio show listeners. Garfield was the first paid BloggerPro account user and has been updating his weblog, Off On A Tangent, daily since November 9, 2000."

Alien Boy

Alien Boy - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

Spices of Life: America's Test Kitchen

Spices of Life: America's Test Kitchen - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

Nina Simonds of Spices of Life takes a behind the scenes tour of “America’s Test Kitchen”, one of the most popular shows on Public Television, and the offices of “Cooks Illustrated”.

VIDEO: Spices of Life: Behind the Scenes of America’s Test Kitchen.

Nantucket Photo Slideshow

Created with Paul's flickrSLiDR.

Videoblogs on ABC August 6th

Here's a promo video for the new ABC videoblog show, i-CAUGHT. If they end up interviewing the people who made and are in the videos, to get the personal story behind the making of the videos, this show might end up being something more than America's Funniest Videos.

Video at the new speed of life...
Did you capture news as it happened?
Were you the first on the scene of a crime?
Did you catch something that’s just too good not to share?

IT'S EASY...

CAPTURE YOUR VIDEO
using a cell phone, webcam, camcorder
(anything with a lens).

UPLOAD YOUR VIDEO
to i-Caught for the world to see!

If you decide to upload a video, you must agree to the agree to the i-CAUGHT Terms & Conditions.

American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.

LICENSE AGREEMENT

Licensor hereby grants to Licensee a non-exclusive license to use in the manner and for the purpose described herein, still pictures and digital video files and such other materials as may be submitted by Licensor hereunder (collectively, “the Footage”). Licensor hereby grants to Licensee the right to include the Footage (as provided by Licensor and/or as edited by Licensee) as well as the name of the Licensor (and copyright owner, if different than Licensor) in all programming and on the websites produced by ABC News, including updates, repeats, re-airs and in context promotions, and in promos released to non-ABC News programs and programs produced by ABC NewsOne for Licensee’s affiliates, partners, and licensees, as those programs are distributed worldwide, in all media now known and hereafter conceived or created, including home video and DVD and Internet and broadband distribution. Licensee acknowledges that it will receive no compensation for granting the rights herein, and that consideration for this agreement shall be the showing of the video in ABC News programming should the material be chosen for use.

In connection with the Footage, Licensor warrants and represents for the benefit of Licensee that:
He or she is 18 years of age or older, and has the right to enter into and perform this Agreement and grant Licensee all the rights granted herein in that it either owns the Footage or has a license to control the exhibition and distribution rights thereto; and there are no agreements, nor shall Licensor enter into any agreements, which would prevent the fulfillment of this Agreement or impair or conflict with the rights granted hereunder; and neither the Footage, nor the production or use of the Footage or any element of the Footage hereunder, will infringe on any trademark, copyright or trade name of, violate any right of privacy or any other right of another person, firm, corporation or other entity; and nothing illegal was done to acquire the Footage and there are currently no disputes or lawsuits concerning ownership of the Footage; and the events in the Footage that purport to be factual have not been staged or altered and/or the Footage depicts the events and persons as described to Licensee by Licensor.

Licensor agrees at all times to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Licensee, its related subsidiary and parent companies, and affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, employees and agents, from any and all claims, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses, including reasonable legal fees, caused by or arising from: (i) any misrepresentation concerning the Footage or elements thereof by the Licensor; and/or (ii) any distribution or other authorized use of the Footage or elements thereof by the Licensee; and/or (iii) the breach of any warranty or representation made by Licensor hereunder, including but not limited to any claim relating to rights in the Footage (i.e. claims of copyright, unfair competition, breach of contract, fraud, misappropriation, invasion of privacy, and right of publicity).

Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be deemed to obligate Licensee to broadcast or use the Footage.

This Agreement and all collaterally related issues shall be governed by New York law. Federal and state courts situated in New York, New York (i.e., Manhattan) shall have sole jurisdiction and venue to resolve disputes hereunder and the parties hereto irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction and venue (and waive any claim that such forum is inconvenient). This Agreement contains the entire agreement of the parties, supersedes all prior agreements on this subject matter and cannot be modified orally.

The parties hereby confirm their agreement to the foregoing by checking the “accept terms and conditions” checkbox.

The terms and conditions on the site are in a little tiny box and the font has an opacity of something like 50%, so I print them here for review and discussion.

via [ Lost Remote ]

Teh Awesome Show

blogTV - Teh Awesome Show.
Zadi, Rick, Bre, and Steve get drunk and Bre gets naked.

I must have missed the twitter from bre about Teh Awesome Show by seconds last night, BUT you can still watch the recorded version of Teh Awesome Show.

Fun to see the excitement of doing your first live group broadcast while drinking beer. There's lots of directions this show can go and I'll be experimenting with them all.

tehawesomeshow.com

Imogen Heap Re-Interprets I Megaphone

iTunes Festival – July 10th - Imogen Heap James Wolff:

"One of the festival’s most anticipated performances, Imogen Heap delivered what she’d promised — an experimental re-interpretation of the songs from 1998’s classic debut I Megaphone. Imogen never plays the same set twice, so the recording of this magical night — available soon on iTunes — is set to become a collector’s piece."

Looking forward to this.

Imogen Heap, best artist ever.

Photo credit: ( 1 and 2 ) Will Rolls, ( 3 ) Mallinsons

Chris Pirillo Answers Questions About Video

Frequently Asked Questions for Video ~ Chris Pirillo:

"I’m answering more questions and generating more revenue from them with a far more interesting (and interactive) audience now than I ever did (or could) at TechTV. In that sense, I don’t miss it at all. ;) Indeed, things are moving forward…"

If you are interested in LIVE streaming, check out Chris' post where he gives some details on his USTREAM.TV set up.

Watch Chris Pirillo LIVE.

via [ Chris Brogan ] who I talked to on the phone last night after he twittered his phone # from the road.

Franklin Park Zoo's Gorilla Family

The renovated gorilla exhibit at the Franklin Park Zoo let's you get up close to the gorillas. They are interested in looking at us as much as we are interested in looking at them.

More info here: Franklin Park Zoo's Gorilla Family.



Cross posted at BostonNOW.

Safari: Now with Blogger support

Oh Happy Day!



A Beta version of Safari 3.0 is available and it FINALLY supports LINK and BLOCKQUOTE buttons in Blogger.

Yay.

Download Safari 3 Public Beta.

How To: One Person Video Production

Mark Schonveld pointed me to Ted Fisher's thoughts on one-person production.A Few Notes on One-Person Documentary Production:

"My friend emailed a question asking for ideas on producing the 'one-person-crew' documentary. I sent back a few ideas, so I'm sharing them here. Note that these are not absolutes, just a few guidelines and concepts...."

Ted is the editor of the New York Times' Frugal Traveler video podcast.

Breaking News: The Internet Crashed

Breaking News: All Online Data Lost After Internet Crash.

Best video ever.
via [ Lost Remote ] best blog ever.

Lindsay Shah at Boston Media Makers

Lindsay Shah - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

Boston Media Makers pictures are up from the July 1st meeting.

Twitter Meetup Pictures

Some pictures from last night's Twitter Meetup after the Webinno meeting.

Michael Moore Doesn't Talk in Soundbites

After running a video report by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Wolf Blitzer follows standard operating procedure and asks Michael Moore, live on CNN, for a few soundbite responses.

Moore refuses to answer in soundbites and then proceeds to let CNN have it for their poor reporting leading up to the war, among other things.


Michael Moore Rips Wolf Blitzer on CNN:

Woolf Blitzer: "You want to respond to anything you just heard?"

Michael Moore: "Yeah I'd like about 10 minutes to respond to what was said.."

Woolf Blitzer: "Well, give us a couple headlines of what you'd like to say?"

Michael Moore: "I don't talk in soundbites."

Follow the link, watch the video. Great stuff.

MichaelMoore.com: 'SiCKO' Truth Squad Sets CNN Straight

Watch part two tonight of Wolf Blitzer and Michael Moore on CNN, then Michael Moore and CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta on Larry King.

Boston Flickr Photo Walk

Boston Flickr Photo Walk
Thursday July 12th at 6 PM

Organized by Greg Peverill-Conti.

Meet at The Esplanade
Storrow Drive and Gloucester Street

We'll probably end up a The Kinsale after for drinks.

Register for the Boston Flickr Photo Walk at Upcoming.

Lexington Minuteman Statue

Lexington Minuteman Statue - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

Minute Man History:

The story of Minute Man is more than just the events that took place at the North Bridge and along the Battle Road in 1775. Minute Man is also the story of an evolution of the ideals of freedom and liberty, and new notions of cultural independence and citizen responsibility which led to a revolution in American literature the following century.

Iraqi lawmakers tell civilians to bear arms:

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Prominent Shi'ite and Sunni politicians called on Iraqi civilians to take up arms to defend themselves after a weekend of violence that claimed more than 220 lives, including 60 who died Sunday in bombings and shootings around Baghdad.

How To: Set Up A New Macintosh

Here are the settings and programs I set up when putting together a new Macintosh.

1. Disable Caps Lock
System Preferences, Keyboard, Modifier Keys. Set Caps Lock Key to No Action.

I just hate it when I'm in the middle of typing somETHING AND ALL THE WORDS ARE IN CAPS, oops, because you hiy CAPS LOCK by mistake. Ha ha. Why is there a CAPS LOCK key any way? I can't think of one reason to use it. So I don't.

2. Dock
Apple Menu, Dock, Dock Preferences
Dock Size - Smaller
Automatically hide nad show the dock

3. Safari
Safari Menu, Preferences
Appearance - Standard Font - Verdana 18
Tabs - Enable Tabbed Browsing

View Menu
Show Status Bar

4. iChat
Add AIM username/password

5. flickr
Downlod and install Flickr Uploader.
There are others, but I'm used to this one. Just drag and drop from iPhoto and upload. Easy.

6. Text Wrangler
Text editor


7. ImageWell
Image editing application that lets you quickly resize, crop, watermark, edit your images, take screenshots and then upload them to the web, save to your computer or email them to a friend. The cool thinkg I like about ImageWell is that you can grab and image and then upload it to y our host. ImageWell then can save the HTML code that points to this image to your clipboard so you can go to your blogging software and paste the code right in.

8. Final Cut Studio
This takes about three hours to install. You can now choose alternate locations for all the image and data files prior to installation. That's cool.

9. SnapZPro X
Handy to capture video and save to disk.

10. Adobe Photoshop

11. Microsoft Word/Excel
If you don't already own these you can try Google Docs and Google Spreadsheet.

12. VueScan
HP scanner software support.

13. TypeIt4Me
Corrects common typing mistakes.

14. RBrowser
Free FTP client

15. Windows Media Players
Windows Media Player 9 for Mac OS X
Windows Media® Components for QuickTime, by Flip4Mac™.
Microsoft stopped supporting the Mac at version 9 and hte current PC version is 11. D'oh!

16. StuffIt Expander 11.0.2
To open downloaded and compressed application, Like Windows Media Player 9, above. D'oh!

17. RealPlayer

18. Skype

[ To Be Continued ]

Add your suggestions in the comments...

Gone Baby Gone (trailer)

via [ Movie Marketing Madness ] my new favorite blog

This trailer captures a lot of Boston. I love the helicoptor shots. Also, the Boston accent is done right. I hate fake Boston accents in movies.

The Road Home - New York Times

Dave Winer points to this, The Road Home - New York Times:

"It is time for the United States to leave Iraq, without any more delay than the Pentagon needs to organize an orderly exit."

Also read this by Robert Malley and Peter Harling in today's Boston Globe, A lesson in Iraqi illusion.

TO IMAGINE what Baghdad will look like after the surge, there is no need to project far into the future. Instead, just turn to the recent past. Between September 2006 and March 2007, British forces conducted Operation Sinbad in Basra, Iraq's second largest city. At first, there were signs of progress: diminished violence, criminality, and overall chaos. But these turned out to be superficial and depressingly fleeting. Only a few months after the operation came to an end, old habits resurfaced. Today, political tensions once again are destabilizing the city; relentless attacks against British forces have driven them off the streets; and the southern city is under the control of militias, more powerful and less inhibited than before.

SlapVid: Preview it. Slap it. Watch it.

SlapVid: Preview it. Slap it. Watch it.
YouTube's daily top 25 in only 5 minutes.

I saw this in the Boston Globe today.

This is a great tool. It gives viewers a quick way to sample a lot of videos AND it gives video producers a feel for how quickly viewers go on to another video if they don't see anything interesting.

Video: iPhone Day!

via [ tech.chick.blog ]

Pan Roasted Lobster

2007.07.06-1574 - Originally uploaded on flickr by kino-eye.

Steve Garfield, Halley Suitt, and David Tames sample some of the best seafood New England has to offer at Jasper White's Summer Shack in Cambridge. David is holding up the "Pan Roasted Lobster," a signature dish.

Smile Boston Project

Smile Boston Project is a short documentary film by David Tamés about Bren Bataclan's "Smile Boston Project," a street art project. In the summer of 2003, Bren Bataclan began leaving paintings of his colorful characters for people to take all over the Boston area on park benches, in subway stations, schoolyards, and other public locations. To each painting Bataclan attached a note that read, "This painting is yours to keep if you promise to smile at random people more often."

Cashback Movie Trailer

Cashback trailer:

"This is a mesmerizing trailer for the film Cashback, about a young man who finds he can’t fall asleep. Deciding to put those extra hours to use he takes a job at a grocery store, where he imagines/finds he can pause life."

Very cool effects in this one.

How to Install iTunes and QuickTime on VISTA

iTunes and QuickTime for Windows cannot be installed without Visual Basic Script (VBScript).

How to install iTunes on a Vista PC:

You have to run "regsvr32 vbscript.dll" from the command line in administrator mode.

Ha ha ha.

Princess Phones and the Internet

David Weinberger writes, Delaminate the Bastards:

"Once upon a time, when this nation's telecommunications infrastructure was owned by a monopolistic industry, all the phones were black, long distance was incredibly expensive, and if you had a great idea for an innovative service using the telephone system, you were free to write a letter to the telephone company and suggest they look into it. About once a decade, the telephone company would introduce something new — touch tone phones, 800 numbers, and, yes, the pink Princess Phone for the ladies."

[ continue reading more... ]

Ask a Ninja Presentation @ Blogference

This is an excerpt of the Ask a Ninja "45 Minute Film School," as recorded by STBD creator Justin Kownacki while we were all in Israel for the Blog... more info This is an excerpt of the Ask a Ninja "45 Minute Film School," as recorded by STBD creator Justin Kownacki while we were all in Israel for the Blogference.

Lots of Wine Online

OpenBottles:

"OpenBottles is a wine social network that features member reviews and information about more than 20,000 wines and 2,200 wineries. "

This site looks interesting for people who enjoy wine and wineries.

Hard Reset of Nokia N93

My Nokia N93 wasn't auto focusing any more. To resolve this you need to do a hard reset.

Here's how.

WITH SIM CARD:

*#7073# [ Green Call Key]

WITHOUT SIM CARD:

Hold down:

- * button
- 3 key
- Green ‘answer call key’

Then whilst all these are held down, press the power button and hold until the ‘Nokia hand shake’ displays, then let go of all of them.

I Love Lindsayism

Lindsay writes I Love Flight of the Conchords.

She embeded this video on her blog.

I saw it in bloglines.

This is the best advertisement for the show I have seen.

Watch it.

Yawn

I saw this picture of a baby yawning on Now Public in an article about yawning.

I yawned within about a minute after looking at this and other photos from the article.

How long did it take for you?

Keith Olbermann: "Resign"

Olbermann: "Mr. Bush, You've ceased to be the President" [VIDEO]:

"It is nearly July 4th, Mr. Bush, the commemoration of the moment we Americans decided that rather than live under a King who made up the laws, or erased them, or ignored them—or commuted the sentences of those rightly convicted under them—we would force our independence, and regain our sacred freedoms.

We of this time—and our leaders in Congress, of both parties—must now live up to those standards which echo through our history: Pressure, negotiate, impeach—get you, Mr. Bush, and Mr. Cheney, two men who are now perilous to our Democracy, away from its helm.

For you, Mr. Bush, and for Mr. Cheney, there is a lesser task. You need merely achieve a very low threshold indeed. Display just that iota of patriotism which Richard Nixon showed, on August 9th, 1974.

Resign.

Why Comcast should offer free Wi-Fi

Why AT&T should offer free Wi-Fi:

"AT&T recently started offering free WiFi access in about 10,000 hotspots, but only to those who subscribe to its more expensive 3 megabits per second DSL service."

Comcast should follow AT&T's lead and at least offer free WiFi at Logan Airport to it's home internet subscribers.

TV News in a Postmodern World

(CNN Video)
Terry Heaton writes about Paris Hilton, the iPhone and Eventstreaming in TV News in a Postmodern World, Part LXVIII:

"Jeff [Jarvis is] right when he says that 'finding out what's happening' is the real challenge ahead, and that's why aggregators are so important to the future of media. What we have today is nothing compared to what entrepreneurs are bringing us in the months and years ahead."

What's happening?

Are you reporting it?

Where are you reporting and how?

The Guide to Great Online Video

10ton’s Top 10: The Guide to Great Online Video:

"The web is not TV. It’s a different medium with different rules. What used to work, won’t. Read on, and you’ll find our philosophy and our ideas about what does."

Good stuff.

Boston Globe: Article about BLOG has NO LINK

Daniel Grant writes a swell article in this morning's Boston Globe entitled, Blogs giving painters a new way to sell art. The only problem, no mention of the blog name and no online link:

Admirers often told Elizabeth Torak that they wished they could watch her working the brush as she developed one of her paintings.

Her studio in Pawlet, Vt., was too small to invite them all in, but she has managed to accommodate them through her blog -- and bolster her sales at the same time.

The Globe obviously does not get it. Do they realize how many people they are forcing to go to Google?

I went and searched Google for Elizabeth's blogs. Here they are:

Elizabeth Torak's Blogs
Creative Process
On the Easel

Here's Anna L. Conti's blog too. She's hasn't updated since her husband got Lukemia and is now writing at How's Dave Doing to keep family and friends informed. The Globe article doesn't even mention this.



One other thing, it would have been nice to have a Boston area blogger/artist in the article. Here's a link to my friend Amy Carpenter. She's a local videoblogger and painter.

The iPhone and The BlackBerry

Boston Media Makers This Morning

Next Meeting: Sunday July 1st - Boston Media Makers.



When:
Sunday, July 1, 2007
10:00 AM

Where:
Sweet Finnish
761 Centre Street
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts 02130