Sunday, October 29, 2006

Noah & Eddie's Podcast: Episode 4

The fourth episode of The Lame Show is now available.

Noah and I discuss the Guadalajara bus system, TiVo, .Mac, RealD, and venture off into other territory. There are two Picks of the Week (again, odd, because it's a biweekly show) and nominations to the Lame List.

And check out our new logo/cover art created by Noah!

Episode 4: Broken Promises (53:12)

Friday, October 27, 2006

BrowseBack: Web page memory comes at a price

If you want to keep track of your web browsing history, consider Smile on my Mac’s BrowseBack. But be prepared for the memory, processor and disk space resources it will require.
This is my first software review for The Apple Blog. They don't have a set rating system, like stars or apples or anything, so it was nice not to have to fret over the exact numerical scoring and just write about how the product works. It wasn't long enough to qualify as a feature-length article, so hopefully I can crank out one of those before the month's end.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Noah & Eddie's Podcast: Episode 3

he latest episode of The Lame Show is right on schedule, but it's a little different than the first two. The biggest difference is that Noah isn't there. We had creative differences over the direction of the show: I wanted more modern art, like the sound of a pear floating in a pool of ... OK, it was more like Noah had some unexpected Internet difficulties preceding the recording session.

But this episode isn't just me talking to myself (Ooo, there's an idea for a killer podcast). Aaron Adams, one of the switchers featured in Apple's 2002 ad campaign, graced us with his thoughts and opinions on why Apple won't release a cell phone, what's going to happen with the new HD DVD and Blu-ray discs, and whether or not the term 'podcast' should be renamed 'netcast' due to Apple's legal maneuverings.

Aaron also provided a Pick of the Week, which prompted me to provide a Lame List nomination and led to general shared bitterness.

All in all, it's the longest episode to date (1:07:23). With another two weeks to go before the next episode 'drops,' you can parcel it out at 5 minutes a day.

Episode 3: Revenge of the Phone

Sunday, October 08, 2006

The Mac ReviewCast Episode 76
Host Tim Verpoorten had me on The Mac ReviewCast this week to talk about my review of the new iPod U2 Special Edition and the InCase U2 Folio.

If you do not have an application that subscribes to podcasts, the easiest way to listen to the episode is to click the following link to download the MP3: MacReviewCast76.mp3 (47:37, 32.8MB)

First Look! Richard Donner's new Superman comic
Entertainment Weekly's EW.com

Check out a few pages from director Richard Donner's new Superman comic.
The design of this "Photo Gallery" is a little annoying because the pages with panels are too small to be read and the larger versions are PDFs instead of simple JPEGs. But this first glimpse of the upcoming storyline is notable for a number of reasons. First, of course, Superman: The Movie director Richard Donner is providing the story. Second, the artist is Adam Kubert, who has worked exclusively for Marvel Comics for decades, notably on the X-Men titles. Third, based on the pages previewed here, they're bringing aspects of the various movies into the comics. For instance, Superman's belt has the 'S' insignia, like the cosume from Superman Returns. Also, there are are crystals in the Fortress of Solitude reminiscent of the crystals from both Returns and the original films. The story pitch itself is killer:
The 6-part "Last Son" is the tale of a small child from the planet Krypton. Sent by his parents to Earth with powers beyond imagination, the child's future potential is limitless. Especially when Superman finds him!
Action Comics #844 will be on sale October 25 for $2.99.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

macCompanion October 2006

The October issue of macCompanion magazine is now online and my single review for this issue is:

  • iPod U2 Special Edition (Late 2006)
    When Apple updated its iPod lines in mid-September, it seemed like the U2 Special Edition would be left behind, seeing as how the new video-capable model was just introduced in June. But Apple has been kind enough to not only endow the U2 edition with all the newest bells & whistles of the regular iPod but also drop the price accordingly.

Download Festival 2006

In a musical feast, Muse and Beck were best dishes

Muse and marionettes were the big stars Saturday at the nine-hour Download Festival at Shoreline Amphitheatre.
Megan and I weren't there for the whole nine hours (more like eight) and only saw 4-1/2 bands, but we had a good time. This review is spot-on, even though it doesn't mention the overwhelming advertising for Volkswagen, Napster and SanDisk.
Perhaps somebody forgot to tell Muse that it wasn't the headliner, because the band ripped through its anthemic set like U2's evil twin.
Wow, their set was scorching. The metal of AC/DC meets the vocal stylistics of Thom Yorke meets the bombast of Queen. I didn't even recognize them before their set began, but during it was surprised at how many songs I recognized.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs really had no business following Muse. The buzz on this New York art-punk band has grown so quiet that you can hear crickets chirping. Not surprisingly, the group, which is led by the overly hyper vocalist Karen O, simply couldn't match the heights achieved by Muse as it ran through its increasingly tired blend of glitz and garage.
I really could not have said it better. I was almost entirely disappointed with their set.
Thankfully, Beck and his puppets closed out the night with a hilarious show that appealed to all the interest groups in the alt-rock nation.
I had read about the puppets, but couldn't quite understand how they would work. They're simple, yet impressively detailed and totally hilarious.
Throughout, everything the real musicians did on stage was echoed by their marionette doppelgangers, whose every movement was displayed on the giant video screens, using cheap visual effects from early '80s MTV.
Megan even noticed that the puppet stage had its own miniature puppet stage.

We heard a number of tracks from his new CD, including "The Information," "1000BPM," "Think I'm In Love" (my favorite) and "Nausea," which you can watch the puppets perform here.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Scroll images in Tiger's Preview

If you press and hold the space bar with an image open, you’ll see the cursor change to a hand. There is it, the hidden scrolling tool!
This Macworld column by Rob Griffiths is based on the hint I contributed to macosxhints.com. Maybe that makes it a contender for September hint of the month!

NBC.com - Heroes comics

Pick up where the show leaves off by delving deeper into the Heroes universe with original graphic novels created by the world's foremost graphic artists!
NBC's new drama Heroes has actual comic book pedigree and they've been lining up good artists.

2006 Elly Award Winners

Megan and I attended the 2006 Elly Awards ceremony at Sacramento's Crest Theatre on Sunday, Sept. 24. The cast from Urinetown (one of the five musicals nominated for Best Overall Production) performed "Snuff That Girl," which seemed quite different without the drums and horns, but was great nonetheless.

Unfortunately, this year they judged musicals and plays separately in both the Young People's and Education categories, resulting in an additional 22 awards. Multiply 22 awards by 5 nominees, then the time it takes to name them all and for all their friends to clap and you've got a too-long-by-hours ceremony. At least the time spent waiting was rewarded by seeing a few colleagues give acceptance speeches.

In the Musicals category, Urinetown won:

  • Choreography: Valerie Gnassounou
  • Direction: John White
In the Drama category, Delta's production of Dark of the Moon won:
  • Supporting Actress: Joanna Bernazzani
  • Costume Design: Beverly Norcross
  • Lighting Design: John White
  • Set Design: John White
  • Overall Production
The complete awards list can be downloaded here:
SARTA-Elly-Awards-2006.pdf

Pee-Wee Turns 20
Entertainment Weekly

When Pee-wee's Playhouse opened its red vinyl door to viewers on Sept. 13, 1986, it didn't look like anything else on children's TV — and that's not just because the host was a gleefully immature grown man in a too-small suit.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Noah & Eddie's Podcast: Episode 2

Noah and I recorded the second episode of our new podcast this weekend and it's now available (for free!) at The Lame Show.

Visiting for this episode is my brother, Ray, who provided us with our theme music and the fresh, new perspective of a white male from Pacific University. (Paging Blake Timm... ) He brings us up to speed on Nintendo's upcoming Wii game console and we also discuss Microsoft's Zune and Xbox products.

In the Mexico Moment, Noah informs us of the popularity of (bad) American pop culture south of the border, including Paris Hilton, Outback Steakhouse and Chili's?! All three of us provide Picks of the Week (though it's a biweekly show) and some nominations are made to the Lame List.

This episode is about 10 minutes shorter than the first one (due to overwhelming request). So by the seventh episode it'll only be three minutes long!

Episode 2: Coming Zune