Entries Tagged 'Entertainment' ↓

So back in 2008 the first true entry I ever made on the site was a breakdown of all the podcasts I was listening to at the time. My commute is fairly short so I only have about a half hour each day to listen, so I don’t both with audiobooks or lengthier podcasts.  Included with each blurb is a link to their iTunes subscription page and/or RSS feed.  Homepages can be found by clicking the images.  It’s been two years since then so I decided I’d revisit the subject.  Here’s what I’m currently listening to:

Returning from ‘08 is one of my favorites, You Look Nice Today: A Journal of Emotional Hygiene.  A hilarious and absurd bit of comedy from the brilliant minds of Merlin Mann, Scott Simpson, and Adam Lisagor, YLNT is an ever evolving hodgepodge of weirdness.  In one episode they’ll be developing a brand new dance move, and reminiscing about the poor fashion choices of their youth.  Well worth listening to. iTunes / RSS

Another one that’s withstood the test of time is This American Life, a creation of WBEZ Chicago, TAL has host Ira Glass and his team of producers, reporters, and creative people telling stories that make America great.  They run the gamut from funny and sincere, to poignant and thought-provoking, to heartbreakingly tragic or just plain outrageous.  Best of all, it’s entirely true. iTunes / RSS

TWIG a.k.a. This Week In Google is part of Leo Laporte’s “network” of webcasts and podcasts that discuss various aspects of tech in society.  Specifically hosts Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Gina Trapani spend time digging up rumors, interviews, and insight into cloud technologies and news about the Big G.  A new add. iTunes / Site

Jordan, Jesse, Go! is a more subdued cousin to You Look Nice Today.  Hosted by Jordan “Boy Detective” Morris and Jesse “America’s Radio Sweetheart” Thorn, JJG! is a spiritual successor to their old college version of the very successful Sound of Young America.  Guests become entangled with Jordan and Jesse’s bizarre improvisations and their strong Internet community leads to call-ins describing ‘momentous occasions’ such as witnessing roller-blading goth kids, as well as special listener activities and projects. iTunes / RSS

I hope you’ve enjoyed, and I highly recommend giving each of these a chance, they’re well worth the time.  You may laugh or learn something new, and who couldn’t use more of both?

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Ubuntu 9.04 was offcially released last week.  I’d been running the beta for a week or so prior, and so far it hasn’t disappointed.  The new features aren’t anything to write home about, but one thing I’ve noticed is the boot-time has dropped from 45 seconds to about 20.  I was able to upgrade the BIOS as well, adding a few features missing from the Mini, namely F11 and F12 key functionality and improved power management.  The new notification system is. . .an interesting choice.  Notifications pop up in the right corner to notify you of various things, such as Volume, Brightness, new Pidgin messages, etc.  When you mouse over one of those, it turns transparent, so you can see what’s below them.  Clicking the notification doesn’t do anything; many people believe it should bring the subject of the notification into focus, myself inlcuded.  I’m really looking forward to Octobers [Ubuntu has a 6-month development cycle] release of Karmic Koala, which claims to be very netbook-friendly, with even faster boot times.  In addition, my Runcore 64GB SSD shipped and should arrive on Wednesday; looking forward to the increased space.  May even hackintosh it, as I have very little experience with Macs and it would be fun to learn another operating system.

In other computer-related news, I recently purchased the Fallout Collection from Good Old Games, an online distributor of old or out of publication games.  DRM-Free and packed with bonus extras, GOG.com manages to keep the price low and permits me to do whatever I want with the game; no tracking down patches, no dubious hacks to get it running.  A simple install and it’s up and running.  Fallout is a game I’ve been meaning to play with earnest for years now, but never sat down long enough to get into it.  The groundbreaking post-apocalyptic tale that set the standard for many post-apocalypses to come has an antiquated charm about it.  The controls are clunky and a bit obtuse, the inventory system is atrocious; and yet, I find myself enamored with the dilemma of choosing between carring that extra few clips of ammo or that spare shotgun.  Combat is slow going and enemy and ally AI aren’t the sharpest shivs on the cellblock, as likely to hit friendly targets as they are foes.  Altogether, though, the game is fun in spite of it’s dated controls and graphics.  Nothing is more satisfying that targeting an enemy’s eyes and blowing them to gooey, bloody chunks with a burst of semiautomatic pistol fire.

Made a trip up to Orlando a few weekends ago with the girlfriend.  Snapped a few photos at the Japan and America Pavillions. Here’s a few of my favorites.

Familiar Faces

More Toys

Voices of Liberty, an a cappella singing group

Vintage Tin Toy from Japan's Toy Museum

Vintage Toy Airplane

Japanese Lantern at Japan Pavillion

You can find the rest at my flickr page.

Posting a few photos taken last night at the Nine Inch Nails concert I attended at UCF Arena in Orlando.  Apologies for the poor quality, my phone has a rather lousy camera.  Had an amazing time.

More available on Flickr

Helped out some friends campaigning for this year’s election, arguably one of the most important in the last twenty years.

Today I’m going to do a quick write-up about several things I’ve been introduced to in the past few weeks, and I suggest you check each of them out, you may enjoy them a lot.

First off, there’s the very short list a daily email service that brings to your inbox a variety of interesting articles and topics.  The subscriptions are broken down into several categories, such as the general Very Short List, a tech-centric one, VSL:Science, and a third tipping you off to stuff going on on the ‘net, VSL:Web.  There are also several more on the way from VSL, including specific emails on food, books, and even one for children.  It’s through one of VSL’s emails that I was introduced to my next subject. . .

Seventy-three years ago a young German man named Ernst Gombrich, a recent college graduate with little prospects, was challenged by a friend to write a history book for younger audiences.  Within six weeks Gombrich ferverently plotted out “A Little History of The World.”   The book became an immediate success, and as time has passed it’s been translated into twenty-four languages.   “A Little History” has only just been translated into English.  I’ve only a little ways into the book, containing only forty short chapters covering prehistory up to the last days of WWII, his style is both whimsical and informative.  The book reads as an entertaining story, without beating the reader over the head with names and dates, perfect for young people.

Finally, I was introduced to the band Mother Mother by a good friend. I’ve given their first album, “Touch Up,” a few listens and it’s good.  A somewhat obscure band from Canada, Mother Mother has a fun attitude and some strangely harmonious vocals. Their tracks have a solid energy overall, with only a few ‘misses’ in my opinion.  Their second album, “O My Heart” was released earlier this year.  Give’em a listen.

Last night I finally got a chance to see The Fall, a film by Tarsem Singh that had limited release in theaters.  It is quite honestly one of the most visually enchanting films I’ve ever seen.

The plot revolves around a young girl staying at a hospital in the 1920’s after injuring her arm in a fall.  While there she meets a bedridden man by the name of Roy who begins to weave an amazing story of revenge, love, loss, and adventure for the young girl, beautifully brought to life within the girl’s mind’s eye.  During the telling of the tale it begins to take on a life of it’s own as both Roy and the young girl interject their own emotions and dreams into the story. As the film progresses you learn more and more of the little girl and Roy’s histories and how they came to the hospital, leading to stunning realization.

The movie is a feast for the eyes.  Stark, bold, and vivid colors and stunning vistas permeate the tale within the tale, contrasted by the subdued landscape of the hospital setting.  The story is at times tragic, uplifting, and touching.  The performances by Lee Pace (Roy) and the young girl (Catinca Untaru) are superb.

Check out the trailer, and let me know what you think.

Anyone who knows me is aware of my job history.  I worked for UPS for three years while going to school, and while it was a tough job, it was a lot of fun and started me on the path of getting in shape.  As such I’m a bit partial to the company, so seeing this little bit on CNN.com warmed the cockles of my heart. A driver hit his millionth mile in his delivery truck on his 22nd anniversary with the company.  How’s that for an accomplishment?

Yes, my cockles.

You want to touch them, don’t you.

As a general rule, I don’t like them.

Most, if not nearly all, serve no purpose beyond cluttering up a profile with electronic junk. Super Walls and Bouncy Balls and Hot or Nots.

And then came Dungeons & Dragons: Tiny Adventures.

It’s a promotional thing Wizards of the Coast and Facebook have teamed up on. You pick a character and class, and you go out on solo adventures, killing monsters, completing quests, and (most importantly) gathering up a sweet arsenal of weapons and armor.

What’s this doing on a ’social’ website?

By inviting your friends, they become adventurers as well. While they can’t help you directly with your quests, what they can do is grant you enhancement bonuses to your abilities, and even heal you.

If you’re looking for a fun little timesink or an amusing and nerdy distraction while at work, you might want to check it out.

Log in to Facebook and click here.

Well, after working for them for two decades, they can deliver your body in its casket to the cemetary in a UPS truck. At least they didn’t lose the body in transit, that would have been a pretty awkward Loss Claim to file. Still, a very cool way to go out with style.