Finally. Knights of Badassdom Available April 1, 2014

Red Band Trailer:


Plot Summary:

KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM follows three best friends (Peter Dinklage, Steve Zahn and Ryan Kwanten) and dedicated LARPers (Live Action Role Players) as they take to the woods to reenact a dungeons and dragons-like scenario fresh out of the mythical Middle Ages. Trouble arises after they unwittingly conjure up some serious evil in the form of a blood-lusting Succubus, from the pits of hell.

Fantasy and reality collide on the Fields of Evermore in an all-out epic battle of make-believe wizards, demons and assorted mythical creatures. Their courage and friendship is put to the test as they attempt to vanquish the evil they have summoned. Will the group prove to simply be foam sword-wielding LARPers, or true “Knights of Badassdom?”

The cast includes Peter Dinklage, Ryan Kwanten, Steve Zahn. Summer Glau and some fun cameos.



Peter Dinklage was VERY funny in this.

I loved Summer Glau in The Terminator, and it was fun to see her in this, including the times she used some swords.

It's a comedy horror story, and fans of The Walking Dead should enjoy it.

The time flew by when I watched it. Lots of humor, suspense, and gore.

Official Site.

Available on iTunes.

Buy or Stream on Amazon.com:

Types of Online Video You Should Be Creating Today

Types of Online Video You Should Be Creating Today
Jose Castillo interviews Steve Garfield and Jeff Cutler about online video content.

Steve Garfield's WZBC Airchecks from Early 2000's

IMAGE: Steve IS A DJ Blog Header

Just saw Shakira on the Today Show with Carson Daly and he shared a photo of them together from 14 years ago.

This pic of @CarsonDaly and @shakira was taken 14 years ago! #orangeroom pic.twitter.com/CTnDUopZc0

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 26, 2014

12 years ago, I was a DJ on WZBC. I looked back at my blog from back then, Steve is a DJ, where I kept playlists, to see if I had a record of playing Shakira.

I remember a caller calling in to tell me about her. I probably didn't have her record in the studio, but I still remember that call.

I saw that I had some archived audio, but it was hosted on .mac and that is no longer with us, but the Internet Archive Wayback Machine had saved a copy of my radio archives from back then.

If you are interested, here are some sound checks of me as a DJ on WZBC.

15 Authors That Mean Something To Me

I just did that '15 authors that mean something to me' meme. Here are my 15 (+2) that I thought of later and a brief reason why I chose them.

Stephen Covey
7 Habits of Highly Effective People is one of the most influential books that I've ever read.



Three of his habits guide me through life.

1. - Seek First to Understand.

2. - Begin with the end in mind

3. - Think Win Win

Stephen King
I read many of his books. What intrigued me was his detailed descriptions of real life and locations. The Stand is one of my favorite books ever.




Dr. Wayne Dyer
Very inspirational to read, Your Erroneous Zones, in High School. One thing I took away from him was to do what you love. The other, "Worry is a worthless emotion.



Isaac Asimov
Loved his books as a kid.

Daniel Pink
One book of Dan's that I can relate to is The Adventures of Johnny Bunko.




Richard Nelson Bolles
What Color Is Your Parachute?

Richard Saul Wurman
His travel guides got me through Hawaii, Paris and London.




George S. Odiorne
My professor in college. He invented Management By Objectives. I loved the class so much, I became a TA for him. One thing he taught me was how to teach. Invaluable.

L. Ron Hubbard
Love Battlefield Earth.


Then I got into the Misson Earth series. Still haven't finished it. ;-)

Joanne Chang
One of the best cookbooks ever to teach you how to bake.



Mark Bittman
How to Cook Everything, a great cookbook. I met Mark when I was working at WFNX and he was a guest on the show.



Nina Simonds
I worked with Nina to film, edit and produce her videoblog series, Spices of Life. I learned a lot about Asian cooking from Nina.



Scott Berkun
The Myths of Innovation is a great book.




Michael Wohl
When I started editing in Final Cut Pro, Michael's book taught me a lot.




Walter Murch
I learned a lot about video editing from this book.




Plus Bonus Authors:

Douglas Adams
Loved Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.



The game too.

Tom Clancy
I used to carry his huge books to my health club to read while riding a stationary bike.

Samuel Adams Nitro Stout

Samuel Adams Nitro Stout is in limited test release and is delicious!

I was able to try it on the best day of the year, to try a new beer, St. Patrick's Day.


Brendan Behan

At Brendan Behan Pub in Jamaica Plain, I stopped in to have a Guinness.

While drinking a nice cold one, I met Rachelle Bose from Samuel Adams who asked if I wanted to try out a new Samuel Adams Nitro Stout.

Yes I would.



It was delicious with the standard chocolate/coffee notes you would expect. ;-)

It's in limited release in a few bars in the Boston and NYC area.

Bonus: Live Irish music was playing.

Massachusetts Craft Brewers Passport

Massachusetts Brewery Passport, a photo by stevegarfield on Flickr.

Massachusetts Craft Brewers Passport: Cool promotion from Massachusetts to visit Massachusetts Breweries!

Explore the Bay State by sampling the finely crafted ales and lagers from breweries and brew pubs, extending from Cape Cod and the Islands to the Berkshires. With over 60 breweries to visit, there is plenty of award-winning beer right around the corner.

Many of these world-class breweries feature ingredients from Massachusetts such as locally grown and malted grains, fresh hops, and indigenous yeast strains. Valley Malt, the region's first micromaltster in Hadley, works with area farmers who supply organic grains. Hops grown at Four Star Farm in Northfield and Clover Hill Farm in Hardwick are also used in many local brews. Specialty ingredients from Bay State growers include apples, blueberries, herbs, honey, maple syrup, pumpkin and even cranberries, peaches and oysters!

#SXSW 2014: A Stormtrooper Photobombed My #Selfie

Imagine Dragons at iTunes Festival At SXSW - Night 1

AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 11: Wayne Sermon (L) and Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons perform as part of the iTunes Festival at the Moody Theater on March 11, 2014 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)

Testing out Free photo embeds for blogs.

Stream Live TV to a Web Browser via Comcast Xfinity X1 over your Home Network

I've always wanted to be able to stream Live TV to a web browser when in my office at home.

Up until recently, my solution was Aereo TV.

Now Comcast Xfinity has come out with a new solution that lets you Stream Live TV to a Web Browser via Comcast Xfinity X1 over your Home Network.

Visit this page, Xfinity TV on X1 Platform to take a look at the TV Grid.

Then you can stream anything on your browser. Streaming also works with the Xfinity TV App.


Guide


Clicking on a program to watch or record


Watching my local CBS affiliate news, live.


Great quality.


Another view of how great the quality is.


One bonus of the Xfinity TV app is that you can download any recordings from the X1 DVR and save them TO GO on your device.

Heading to #SXSW 2014

Every year that I head down to SXSW I have to pack for all kinds of weather. This year isn't any different.


Packing.


I've got my new business cards.


My hat.


And some new shoes!

Here's my schedule.



Subject to change. Embrace Serendipity.

Meet me:

THURSDAY NIGHT
If you want to meet up, join me on Thursday night at 8:30 PM at The Gingerman for a beer.

SXSW: Calm before the storm meetup with Brian Solis.

FRIDAY NIGHT

Jeff Pulver State of Now Cocktail Party 7 PM


SUNDAY NIGHT
I will definitely be at the Wiley Author Party on Sunday night at 6:30 PM.

Meet me in Austin. Come to the #SXSW Wiley Author Party. Sunday, Mar 9 @ 6:30pm (CST) Hangar Lounge #wileysxsw
http://twtvite.com/wileysxsw14
https://www.facebook.com/events/275347972619894/

MONDAY

SXSW Photowalk with Anthony Quintano at 3:30.

The London EDITION is a great hotel

Why I love the Tate Modern Museum in London

Yuengling Launch Party for Boston

You're Better Off Manually Posting Boston.com Stories to Facebook

UPDATE BELOW: Facebook is confusing.

I liked this story, What happened when Boloco founder John Pepper became an Uber driver, on Boston.com.



I clicked the Facebook button to share the post to my timeline.

It looked like this.



This is dumb.

They made the image small AND included another story, about Avery Bradley, that I didn't want.

I deleted it.

Then I reposted it myself by copying the story title and link over to Facebook.



Now it looks better, and I had the opportunity to give Scott Kirsner a link.

UPDATE:

I just saw another image on my Facebook newsfeed and it looks like this:



Now I'm confused.

This might have something to do with viewing my own timeline vs. the newsfeed.

I'd love to hear from some Facebook experts on this.

I'm getting some coffee.

Watching the last episode of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

Watching the last episode of @latenightjimmy as it was meant to be seen, on the NBC app, on an iPad, at 11:43 AM. Congrats @jimmyfallon, a photo by stevegarfield on Flickr.

Watching the last episode of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon as it was meant to be seen, on the NBC app, on an iPad, at 11:43 AM. Congrats Jimmy Fallon.

See you on the Tonight Show.

Ice, Art, and Valentines Day

ICE


ART

"The Hallway Gallery is excited to announce its first solo exhibition of 2014, featuring new work from Boston-based artist Clint Baclawski. Chromogenic, a site-specific installation, features a 30-foot wall photographic light mural stretching the length of the entire gallery."

Chromagenic at the hallway gallery. http://t.co/obD6VhzERN

— Steve Garfield (@stevegarfield) February 8, 2014

Valentines Day at CVS

HappyValentines Day at CVS! https://t.co/J3lwed0NxG

— Steve Garfield (@stevegarfield) February 8, 2014

I was a Joke Writer for Jay Leno

Jay Leno just ended his run as host of the Tonight Show.

I've got some great memories from being a monologue joke writer for Jay for three years in the late nineties.

RADIO PRODUCER
Back then I was a producer, on-air wacky sidekick, and writer for a Morning Show in Boston, Karlson and McKenzie. They're still on at WZLX.

When guests came in I'm greet them, get them set up in the green room, and take them on air.

I met lots of fun people. One time Eddie Money came in without a shirt. We game him a station T-Shirt. Crazy.

Here I am with Kathy Griffin.



I used to write topical jokes based on the news of the day. When comedians came in, I'd always talk to them about it.

JIMMY FALLON
One time Jimmy Fallon came in with his sister to talk about his book, that he wrote with his sister Gloria, I Hate This Place: The Pessimist's Guide to Life.



That's from when he was on Saturday Night Live. He was nice back then too.

WRITING JOKES
One time a local comedian took a look at the jokes I was writing and said that I should be writing for Jay Leno.

I asked him, "How would I do that?"

He explained that Jay have what's called Fax Joke Writers, and you were required to send in 10 jokes a day via Fax. If Jay chose to use one on the monologue, you'd get paid. He made the introductions, and I signed a contract.

One of the jokes Jay used was this one:

President Clinton was greeted by rioting citizens in Greece, who set fire to local stores.

CLINTON WAS OVERHEARD AS SAYING, "THOSE GREECE FIRES ARE HARD TO PUT OUT."

VEGAS VACATION
One time my wife and I made the not too well thought out decision to take my niece and nephew (21) to Vegas.

Coincidentally, Jay was doing a show there. I called into the show and got four VIP tickets. I was told, if there was any problem, to ask for Jay to come out to straighten things out.

My nephew hoped there'd be a problem. ;-)

There wasn't. We got center front seats in a huge banquette. It was a fun time.

Best of luck to you Jay. Thanks for the memories. ;-)

Watch the Olympics Live

Download the NBC Sports Live App to watch the Olympics.

You can temporarily watch free, or watch as long as you want, after logging in via your cable provider.

Here's this morning's slope side snowboarding.

Looks and sounds great!

Update from Comcast:

The NBC Sports Live Extra app has been added to the X1 Platform for the Olympics (so everything that’s online, including Gold Zone will be on the biggest screen in the house).  And Gold Zone: We know that football fans have grown accustomed to watching the best moments of the game with the Red Zone Channel.  Multiple events happening at the same time inspired something similar for the Olympics.  As a result, NBC created the “Gold Zone” for the Olympics which will automatically highlight Olympics events if a medal is about to be awarded.  Gold Zone is available on TV through the X1 Platform as well as through the NBC Sports Live Extra app.

 

And we're testing Instant On Demand, a new feature of our Xfinity On Demand platform that will let customers in the Boston area access NBC's primetime Olympic broadcast immediately after it starts via Xfinity On Demand.  So, if you walk in the door at 8:32 PM one night, you can start from the beginning of that night’s NBC broadcast through Instant On Demand on the X1 Platform.  You could do this up until 10:59 PM if you didn’t want to wait for NBC’s replay to start later in the evening.

 

Oh, and, we opened up our Xfinity WiFi hotspots throughout the country for all mobile Internet users so that they could enjoy the Olympics on the go.  Then, when an Xfinity Internet customer gets home they’re automatically logged in on their mobile device for the NBC Sports Live Extra app or NBCOlympics.com

Spencer Trappist Ale Beer Bread

When I heard that there was a recipe for bread that included beer in it, I was interested.

I found a recipe at Food.com: Beer Bread.

Here it is, slightly modified.

Ingredients:



3 cups Self-Rising Flour(sifted)
1/4 cup sugar
1 12 ounce bottle of Spencer Trappist Ale
1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup melted butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix dry ingredients, beer, and softened butter.
3. Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan.
4. Pour melted butter over mixture.
5. Bake 1 hour, remove from pan and cool for at least 15 minutes.

Live from Boston http://www.ustream.tv/channel/stevegarfield

Live from Boston http://www.ustream.tv_channel_stevegarfield, a photo by stevegarfield on Flickr.

Live from Boston on Ustream http://www.ustream.tv/channel/stevegarfield



Live streaming video by Ustream

Live video via Ustream on Samsung Galaxy Camera. CC BY-NC-SA

Thanks @SamsungMobileUS for the review unit.


Samsung Galaxy Camera EK-GC100 8GB White, Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean) 3G Unlocked HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 by Samsung from New Generation Products