Top YouTube videos and the internet my way

huffingtonpost

The TOP YouTube Videos of 2009: See Who Made The List http://bit.ly/7etkSk

Interestingly I haven’t watched any of the specifically mentioned top videos on the list but I have seen everything on YouTube worth watching vis a vis Michael Jackson and the Jackson family and have pretty much moved on from that pass time. My favorite YouTube subject matter now is fashion and beauty trends. I enjoy (shopping) “haul” vlogs when the presenter is good at it. It’s going on 2010 and yes you can be judged on the quality of your “haul” videos. I’m seconds away from being fashion jewelry haul worthy myself and this from an ex-jewelry snob who would not wear it if it wasn’t “real” except under sufferance. Now I can look back and say – what a boring way to live.

I also enjoy the “vintage” aka historical footage – all manner of things from Fats Waller, to Jackie Wilson to Donna Summer. It’s been a great evolution to go from the rather stodgy one set family sitcoms on the “boob” tube broadcast at you at 8 or 9 p.m. whether you liked it or not – to having it your way where you can pull in your own programming through virtual space. With all the trouble and strife in the world notwithstanding, this is still a wonderful world. YouTube’s not good for everything because I can’t find a decent clip of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” on which to end this blog – so fill in your fave sunny December day song instead.

Filed under: Style, haul videos, internet, youtube

The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty

The night every Jackson fan has been waiting for is finally just a few hours away. The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty premiere’s tonight on A&E. To quote from GenevieveJaxn on twitter: “… NO OTHER SHOW AS ENTERTAINING ON TELEVISION!” I am super excited and have set up my DVR to record so that I can savor it on my own time without possibility of interruption.

Jackie, Tito, Marlon and Jermaine look great.

http://www.aetv.com/the-jacksons-a-family-dynasty/photos/

And every time I see that tiny house they grew up in – it blows my mind.

UPDATE

I just watched the first two episodes and I give the show five stars. I’m not just saying this coz I’m a Jackson fan of 35 odd years . This is a good show because it’s not your typical reality tv where we follow the participants around waiting for them to do dumbazz quirky or shocking things. The stars of this show are all 50 something and the presentation is very dignified. It has plot, characterization, tension, and even some surprises (no spoilers ever here!) . Plus the photography is lovely. This is a show you could watch even if you weren’t a fan of the Jacksons because it is a very good story in and of itself that happens to be a true story. As we all know – the best stories pretty much write themselves.

Filed under: The Jacksons, Jackson 5, jackson brothers, Jacksons reality show, Michael Jackson, Review

Twitterature (book release)

The Wall Street Journal hears Shakespeare rolling over in his grave. I say it’s a mistake to think Shakespeare was a luddite, fuddy duddy, future phobe. Follow the link below to read about the book.

dracorosa: Twitterature: the World’s Greatest Books in Twenty Tweets or Less..http://bit.ly/2ayRwY
Original Tweet: http://twitter.com/dracorosa/status/6545895108

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Sent from my iPod

Filed under: Books, Technology, shakespeare, twitter, twitterature

Nook Review from huffpo(HuffingtonPost.com)

Huffpo reviewer writes:

A lot of people say they don’t like reading books on an LCD screen, but many of them might change their minds if they turned down the brightness of the backlight.

huffingtonpost: Nook Review: Barnes & Noble’s eReader Is A MESS http://bit.ly/51AW73

^^I don’t have a Nook (does anyone without the special hookup have one yet?) I have a Kindle reader and the Kindle app for iPhone/iPod Touch. The touch screen is lots of fun if you’re reading for a few minutes. Just about anyone would get a kick out of the finger page swiping alone. But when you need to read for hours it gets tiring fast. And turning down the backlight is not the issue. You also have a couple of choices for the appearance of your the Kindle app page – but that doesn’t make it a Kindle. In the same way the pages of a print copy of say the Wall Street Journal don’t look like the pages of a glossy art book. Two different textures – two different appearances. Nitpicking that I suppose only the hardcore reader will get but this is what reading devices are designed for. People who are light readers or who only read for a few minutes at a time can easily make do with whatever computers or devices they already have if they want to read e-books. Anyway – follow the link below for the full review.

Original Tweet: http://twitter.com/huffingtonpost/status/6535292868

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Sent from my iPod

Filed under: Technology, nook review

The Atlantic to sell short stories on Kindle

gothamwriters: The Atlantic will sell short stories on Kindle: http://bit.ly/5te67G
Original Tweet: http://twitter.com/gothamwriters/status/6506087381

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………..

One of the featured authors will be:

… Ms. [Edna] O’Brien, one of Ireland’s best-known writers, the Kindle deal drags her into the 21st century. Ms. O’Brien, who writes all her novels, stories and plays longhand, then dictates them to a typist, said she had never even seen a Kindle.

She submitted her story “Shovel Kings,” about the lives of Irish workers who dug the tunnels for the London Underground, to her agent to see if she could get a traditional print deal. Instead, The Atlantic offered her the Kindle opportunity.

……..

As a Kindle owner I’m all for seeing as many types of literature available for Kindle as possible – but the publishing industry is never going to snap out of its funk if they don’t start working with modern writers. It seems that The Guardian for example is featuring a different author every week who doesn’t even know what a computer does. We need more people who know how to use today’s technology to create new style and form to excite and reengage the reading audience. That’s what we need.

On a slightly related note, one of the clicks on my blog today was “Kindle just a fad” – perhaps someone deciding whether or not the device is worth buying for Christmas. I’ve read critics who think that Kindle will go out of fashion as soon as Apple releases the much anticipated tablet computer. But you know – not everyone is going to want a tablet computer. Some people will be perfectly happy with a Kindle. And presuming that the tablet will be pretty much like the iPhone/iPod but bigger -  that’s a highly desirable product and I know I will want one but that in no way invalidates the usefulness of a Kindle device. That would be like saying that people will only read a book printed on one kind of paper or bound in a certain manner.

The bottom line is that the ebook isn’t going anywhere. The look and navigational functions will be slightly different depending on the device that you use. For example my Kindle books look different on the Kindle device than they do on my Ipod Touch. On Kindle which has a matte screen they look like newspaper. On Ipod I have it set to sepia tone which mimicks the look of an older book but on the backdrop of a glossy screen. On Kindle you use buttons to navigate from page to page. On Ipod you use your finger to swipe with a moment that is sort of like what you’d do on print. However I use both interchangeably (and actual print as well) and have no intention of chucking one in favor of the other. So all that to say Kindle is just a device but electronic text – including ebooks is not a fad, but simply a part of life in the internet age.

Sent from my iPod and updated on a reg’lar macbook.

Filed under: Books, kindle, the atlantic

Indee.tv – Maestro

Indee.tv – Maestro
http://indee.tv/films/view/maestro/

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In this cute film a master prepares for one of his many vital performances.

Sent from my iPod (just havin fun with my new iPod Touch)

Filed under: Film

Contemporary Reading

An urban focused website tweets that they want to book reviewers. They ask for two writing samples – including a review of a recent book. That makes me think if this means fiction I can’t remember when I last read a recent novel. I’d like to and I’m always tagging new books for future perusal – but there just hasn’t been time this year. For my MA work I’ve read very little past the middle 1960s. If I can find a suitable doctoral program for next year then I suppose I’ll have more time to explore. All that to say – maybe the contemporary reviews thing is not for me.

Sent from my iPod

Filed under: Books

Emailing tweet from: RevRunWisdom (Rev Run)

RevRunWisdom: dress code is very important.. People see what you look like before they hear what your thoughts r..
Original Tweet: http://twitter.com/RevRunWisdom/status/6464185895

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A pragmatic point of view from the owner of a fashion empire. I do have to say that my parents went through an anti-fashion phase when we first moved to the states and even seemed to get a kick out of being given the fish eye by bank tellers, etc., for being so shabbily dressed. I guess the game was watching people make assumptions. Now as a teenaged fashion afficionado I found my parents studied nonconformance annoying and embarassing, but they turned out all right after all. My point – fashion is nice but clothes don’t always make the man (or woman). And – speaking of the Simmons family fashion empire, I’m a new Baby Phat convert and love it.

Sent from my iPod

Filed under: Style, Rev Run

Man marries video game character

It’s amazing how many people don’t get this. I don’t even play video games (yet!) and don’t know if I ever will, but I think it’s cute, funny and in the narrator’s words, a piece of performance art. Observe how the comments float across the screen in Japan. That’s a nice touch – and really gives the impression of an organism. Of course I can’t read the characters and don’t know what they’re saying but I do know that there are so many sour puss hater types who post on youtube that the effect won’t be the same. Why do people watch videos and then type insulting ish about how much they hate it and themselves and the internet, blah, blah. In that case get off the damn computer or put down the device and take a walk or do a dance or sumthin’ to knock that hateration out of you. Seriously. Just sayin’.

Filed under: Technology, japan, marriage, video game character, youtube

Practising mobile posting

I tried this last night directly into the iPod/iPhone wordpress app – accidentally flicked my hypersensitive screen which resulted in select all then delete and it was poof irretrievably gone! Not a terrible disaster since it was just a test – but if it was a school or professional post I’d be angry and distraught in equal proportions all diffused together. I know there are plenty of MID bloggers and journalists and I am Joanna come so lately they be sweepin’ up after the party at this point. But I think there’s still opportunity for me to seem like a forerunner on the literary/academic front where some still use typewriters or old fashioned desk hog tower and cathode monitor PCs. I’ve noticed that I seem to be the only digital book user in my classes thus far – unless people are just not citing them as such yet. Age is not a pertinent argument. My 70 something year old father reads online everyday and will be getting his second apple laptop for Christmas.

Sent from my iPod

Filed under: Technology, Uncategorized