The Lame Show: Episode 28

Noah and I are back for another episode of our podcast and I'd describe this latest one as 'back to basics.' No guests or listener questions (not that I dislike either of those), just the two of us sharing our frustrations with the wonders of modern technology.

Late to Leopard

Noah has returned from New York City, where he purchased Leopard from the city's famed Apple Store. Now that both he and Eddie have upgraded, they compare notes on the latest update to Mac OS X and iLife.

Another of Noah's New York purchases figures into the Lame List nominations, as does an application that doesn't play nice with the big cat.

Top picks for this episode include an excellent To Do list application and some music to listen to while you're doing those to's.

Episode 28-1.m4a (56:46)
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Update: A user error (mine) left the original version of this episode with some phantom audio. If you experienced that, please re-download the audio file.

WonderCon 2008 - Masquerade

I didn't get a great seat for this year's Masquerade, so the videos I took were not as good as last year's. But looking at last year's videos, I confirmed that this year's entries simply weren't as good. There were approximately 30 entries and only a handful were entertaining. I've only posted three (I think they all won awards).

I'm not too familiar with who all these people are, but anyone that's played a Zelda game probably knows them. It was still pretty funny to me. Oh, and it features the same kid who played Link last year.


Some costumes can be made, others have to be 'built'


If you know who these guys are, you'll probably love this as much as I did. If you don't, I'm sorry for you. And if you can't understand what they're saying due to the crowd noise, there's a better clip elsewhere on YouTube.

WonderCon 2008 - Wall•E

The Disney hour began with a look at the upcoming The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. The trailer was not yet finished at that time, so some centaurs were just people with long green stockings. It was mildly entertaining (certainly more than the Shutter segment) but I was more interested in the latter half of the hour, focusing on Pixar's upcoming film, Wall•E. Director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo) presented a number of clips that were very entertaining. He also answered a few questions like 'If the movie has no dialogue, will John Ratzenberger be in it?' and 'Where will the Pizza Planet delivery truck be?'

Wall•E Director Andrew Stanton at WonderCon 2008

WonderCon 2008 - Return of The X-Files

One of the most well-attended sessions of Saturday, Feb. 23, was for the 20th Century Fox horror thriller Shutter. Why? Because you had to sit through that in order to see The X-Files stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, creator-director-writer-producer Chris Carter and writer-producer Frank Spotnitz. They had been shooting the second motion picture the previous night and flew in to make an appearance and talk with the fans. The excitement in Hall A could not have been much higher and the foursome didn't disappoint, providing a charming, funny and insightful Q&A segment.

The X-Files 2 Panel at WonderCon Pt. 1


The X-Files 2 Panel at WonderCon Pt. 2


The X-Files 2 Panel at WonderCon Pt. 3


The X-Files 2 Panel at WonderCon Pt. 4

WonderCon 2008 part 1

A month's gone by since WonderCon 2008 took place in San Francisco and I've finally had the chance to upload some of the video I took to my YouTube Channel.

The first session I attended (did not record) was the 10,000 B.C. Q&A with director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow) and stars Steven Strait and Camilla Belle. Emmerich has a strong (German? Austrian?) accent, so he sounds a bit like Arnold Schwarzenegger. The funniest part was when an audience member asked how historically accurate the film was and Emmerich, referring to the extended clip just shown answered "As you can see, It's nawt a dockumentaree" (imagine it in the 'It's not a tumor' voice). I've since seen the film and can assure you it's more a comedy (not on purpose).

The real reason I attended that session was just to have a decent seat (mission not accomplished) for the following Get Smart session featuring stars Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway and director Peter Segal. In case you don't know, Steve Carell is a huge star, especially among this crowd, but also a genuinely funny person. Although both he and Anne were a bit taken aback by the audience, they had a really great Q&A, which naturally drifted into talk about The Office.

Steve Carell & Anne Hathaway at WonderCon Part 1


Steve Carell & Anne Hathaway at WonderCon Part 2


Steve Carell & Anne Hathaway at WonderCon Part 3

The Lame Show: Episode 27

Things are a little different for this episode because I upgraded to a new version of iWeb and it decided to change the layout of the site and files, probably breaking links, etc.

Invaded by a PC 'mindset'

PC guy Chris Gauthier visits The Lame Show to discuss with Noah and Eddie the supposed 'Mac Mindset' of superiority, iPhones being hacked around the world and the superiority of the Amazon MP3 store over the iTunes store. He also details a Linux-based home media centre.

Their top picks this episode include the most well-written movie of 2007, a newly-released animation effort and a way to learn new languages via an online social network.

Lame List nominations include both Apple and Microsoft, plus a subpar projector.

Episode 27.m4a (1:04:10)
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The Black Crowes attack Maxim mag review

The Black Crowes are lashing out at Maxim magazine for reviewing the band's new album — apparently without actually hearing it first.

New Guitar Hero gives sweet emotion to Aerosmith fans

Activision Inc on Friday unveiled a new "Guitar Hero" video game focusing on the rock band Aerosmith, taking the billion-dollar franchise in a new direction.

I'd prefer it be focused on U2, but I'll settle for near-perfection.

THX Trailers

The Story of "Deep Note"

The famous THX crescendo, Deep Note, is like no other audio mark in the world. But where did it come from?

Too bad they left out the Simpsons version.

(Via Coudal)

The Lame Show: Episode 26

Games & Phones, Hold the Apple

Tim from 2P START! visits to discuss the Nintendo Wii, XBox 360, LG Voyager and Microsoft's $44B offer to purchase Yahoo!

Lame List nominations include certain aspects of the aforementioned Voyager, the new American Gladiators and the Dept. of Homeland Security.

Picks of the Week include a music podcast, a movie on DVD and a movie in 3D.

Episode 26.m4a (59:29)
The Lame Show on iTunes

Sawyer's Nickname Generator

Ever wonder what Sawyer would call you if you were stranded on the island with him? Visit Sawyer's Nickname Generator and be mildly unimpressed. Unfortunately, the generator doesn't seem to be as up to the task as Sawyer (or, more accurately, his writers). For instance, my nickname was "Huckleberry Pinhead." I guess the pinhead part is because I'm kinda smart and the huckleberry because I'm a willing helper...? Sawyer's nicknames are usually one word, like Freckles, Hoss or Chewbacca. Huckleberry Pinhead?

Good Day Sacramento

I appeared on Good Day Sacramento yesterday to promote the opening of the museum's current special exhibition Port of Stockton: Diamond of the Delta.

I don't have my own recording of it, because it was supposed to air during the 7 a.m. block, not the 8 a.m. block, and TiVo thought maybe I'd want to see the 8 a.m. airing of Charmed. Thankfully, CBS13 has a video library online where you can watch segments. So I had the opportunity to actually watch and see what the viewers saw.

I'm really not the best person to talk about it, but I was the only one available due to scheduling issues. Also, keep in mind that while it's going on, I generally have no idea what viewers are seeing on the screen nor when I'm being spoken to over-the-air versus behind-the-scenes. Oh, and my earpiece kept cutting out, so on at least one occasion my silence is due to my trying to piece together the question. I know, excuses, excuses...

Port of Stockton Historical Exhibit On Display

How to succeed in business

A computer shop's sales pitch: 'We remove Vista'

"Of all the signs we put up there the last two years, at least, we probably got the most response out of that one. A lot of people coming in."

(Via The Raw Feed)

Trees review

If you take the 'explain purpose, list pros & cons, give final verdict' format of electronics reviews and apply it to naturally existing creations, you end up with this funny piece:

Trees Reviewed

Trees. It seems like you see them everywhere these days. But are trees viable in the long-term, or just another flash-in-the-pan fad for the under-30 crowd?

Netscape pronounced dead

The Browser That Started it All Dies a Quiet Death

It birthed the web as we know it. But tomorrow, February 1, marks the demise of Netscape Navigator, the first commercial web browser.

In my opinion, Netscape Navigator died when it became the bloated monstrosity known as Netscape Communicator and users actually tried to downgrade from version 4 back to 3. But that image above does make me shed a tear of nostalgia.

Stockton featured on 60 Minutes

House Of Cards: The Mortgage Mess

In the last six months, Americans have seen their investments shrink, their property values plummet, and the country edge closer towards a recession. At the heart of the problem is something called the subprime mortgage crisis, which began last summer and continues to ricochet through the economy.

And as correspondent Steve Kroft reports, it started in places like Stockton, Calif.

It's always great to ask people 'Did you see my city on 60 Minutes last night?! They said we're ground zero for the current financial crisis and a microcosm of everything that went wrong!'

Hellboy II trailer and stills

Check out the trailer and movie stills for the upcoming motion picture Hellboy II: The Golden Army, directed by Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) and starring Ron Perlman. The film is set for release on July 11, 2008. Although I'm unfamiliar with the story, it looks like the character of Johann Kraus (my favorite) will be in the movie.

Sonic is Pilate?

Being involved in community theatre is generally a lot of work with little reward. But there are some perks. Juliet Heller, who performed a stellar Marian in The Music Man, invited her fellow castmates to see her in a preview performance of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Willows Theatre in Concord. And provided we brought a program from a show we performed in, we received free admission. That's a $27 savings, folks.

It was a great production and although I didn't know any of the other actors, I read in the program biographies that Pontius Pilate was played by Ryan Drummond, who has a lot of stage and screen credits, but is "most widely known as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog for Sega Gaming Corp. from 1998-2004."

The Lame Show: Episode 25

Predictions Wrong, Right, Left

Noah and Eddie see how successful and unsuccessful their Macworld Expo predictions turned out. And make their feelings known regarding the new products announced. Did one of them make the Lame List?

Picks of the Week include an avocado CD and a super DVD.

The burning questions are asked: Could a woman pick up a guy using a MacBook Air? Are optical discs really going away? When will we see wireless electricity? Whatever happened to flannel?

Episode 25.m4a (55:45)
The Lame Show on iTunes