photo blog

I'm not new to the blogging world, but I am new to blogger.com. My love and fasciation for google is the reason for starting my blogger.com account and I couldn't be happier.

With this particular blog, I update it in the traditional way: I log on to blogger.com, type in their web-based client, edit some HTML as needed, etc etc. However, a group of friends and I have decided to create a community blog. Here's the catch, we only blog from our cell phones. Blogger.com allows us to email updates from our iPhones and have them published instantly to our blog.

Backstory:

After graduating college in 2006, many of my friends moved away from Southeast Ohio. We're scattered across the country! Whitney lives in LA, Larry in Cincinnati, and Riehle traveled all over the country every weekend for ABC Sports. I thought a community photo blog would be a great/fun way for us to share moments of our day-t0-day lives with one another. Most of us wouldn't consider uploading one or 2 pictures to a facebook album. This way, we can share one or two pictures at a time with one another.

Check it out here: http://mobileparks.blogspot.com

RSS Feeds and Google Reader

I just recently decided to start utilizing RSS Feeds. I have a handful of websites that I check multiple times a day. Sometimes there are updates, most times there are not. With RSS Feeds, I am notified in one stop of all the updates to ALL of the sites I check.

What is RSS?

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a family of web formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favorite web sites in an automated manner that's easier than checking them manually. A google engineer used the analogy that it's like email, but for web updates.

Mail RSS Reader

I have an Apple MacBook Pro running Leopard 10.5.1 I use (and love) Apple Mail. I check my google email as well as my staff email with this program. With the latest OSX upgrade, Mail now features an RSS Reader. Fantastic. I check my email 80,000 times a day, and now I can see when my favorite celebrity blogs are updated, too!

This only works when I'm at home or have my laptop. At work, I still have to check each website, or add the RSS Feed to the my work machine. What if I'm on vacation? Or visiting my parents for the weekend? Answer: Google Reader (for the win!).

Google Reader

This weekend, my geeky friend and I were discussing all things nerdy (computers, iPhones, blogs, and RSS Readers). I asked what reader he used. I was fully prepared to brag about Apple Mail's RSS Reader and blow whatever program he uses out of the water. Not so much... He introduced me to Google Reader.

It works just like Apple Mail, but its web based! So I can check this from any computer with an Internet connection. You can also add feeds to your iGoogle website, simply brilliant. 

Now I just go to google.com/reader instead of visiting all of the websites I normally would. It lists all of my subscriptions and lets me know how many (if any) updates there have been since I last checked.

In case you haven't noticed, Google.com is the shit. I'll probably post about that in greater detail later....

Shameless plug:

You can subscribe to my RSS Feed here!

hulu.com

so i work in broadcast tv and watch quite a bit of television on a daily basis (8+hrs), so when i heard about hulu.com, i was intrigued.

what is hulu.com?

basically, hulu is a joint venture between Fox and Universal (NBC) studios. they upload full-length tv shows (and some full length feature films) to the Internets with limited commercial interruption.

you might ask: why not visit station's websites?

well, most websites (NBC.com, ABC.com, etc etc) only put up a limited amount of episodes on the web. hulu.com has an extensive collection of series and seasons. of course only universal and fox studios are represented. but its a start!

Much like YouTube and Daily Motion, you can also embed video clips through HTML or even email clips through the website. 

Hulu is in private beta testing. it took me over a month to gain an access code. i highly recommend signing up! I was able to watch the entire first season of Friday Night Lights online. 

I feel like i should mention that I support the WGA strike, especially since I'm promoting internet broadcasting of television material that they are seeking compensation for. I think it's only fair that ANYONE receive compensation for their work!

Good 'ole dining hall

My friend Lea graciously took me to the dinning hall. Its not the
greatest food, but its free!!

i can't wait to move to LA

it's 11 degrees in southeast ohio.

gross.

UPDATE: Apparently it's cold in other parts of the country as well... just not Athens, Ohio.

Here is a screen shot from good friend Jameson in Champaign, Ill.

obama's top 10 on letterman

"Barack Obama Campaign Promises"

10. To keep the budget balanced, I'll rent the situation room for sweet sixteens.

9. I will double your tax money at the craps table.

8. Appoint Mitt Romney secretary of lookin' good.

7. If you bring a gator to the White House, I'll wrassle it.

6. I'll put Regis on the nickel.

5. I'll rename the tenth month of the year "Barack-tober."

4. I won't let Apple release the new and improved iPod the day after you bought the previous model.

3. I'll find money in the budget to buy Letterman a decent hairpiece.

2. Pronounce the word nuclear, nuclear.

1. Three words: Vice President Oprah.

everyone else is, why shouldn't i?

so i decided to try and blog again. ive abandoned livejournal since i use just about every other service google has to offer. 

i think i want my blog to be mostly about media... mostly because i'm one of the biggest media whores ever. i'm going to write about tv shows i watch, movies i see, websites i read, music i listen to, etc etc.

one of the (many) shows i'm watching right now is HBO's Extras. it was created by ricky gervais (the same guy who started The Office at the BBC).

while i really enjoy this series (so far), i don't think its AS funny as the BBC version of The Office. i love the dynamic between the two lead actors Andy Millman (Ricky Gervais) and Maggie Jacobs (Ashley Jensen, also from Ugly Betty).

The show definitely has Ricky Gervais' humor stamped all over it, so if you enjoy his work, you'll probably like this show.

Time to watch another one of my "stories". I'm working through season 2 of Showtime's The L Word.