MacDavid

From Blogger to Awesome (Wordpress)!

2009-01-17T21:35:00.004-05:00

So it took several weeks to make this change when I consider the domain registration, transfers, glitches and mistakes to move to a selfhosted website. Sheesh! Well bottom-line, it's all done now. My new blog is now at www.macdavidpro.com and I love it. So if you by chance are subscriber of mine, then hop on over to my new blog and subscribe there. :)

In the meantime, I'm going try to re-purpose this blog somehow. *thinking*

Meanwhile...

Stay synced!

Facebook Fever - Hilarious, Must watch! Click click click!!!

2009-01-16T20:00:00.007-05:00

I just came home, checked my email and saw this video. Let me tell you that I totally relate because I was one of those people suffering from "Facebook Fever." And bottom line, this video had me rolling on the floor laughing because it's just so true.

I would tell ya more of what I mean, but that would spoil the video. Go watch...NOW! Oh and by the way, this is totally a similar syndrome that twitter newbies go through as well...only they friend people in the hundreds, at a time. *rolling eyes* ...but I digress. Go watch!!

Enjoy and stay synced!

In Honor of Steve Jobs

2009-01-15T09:15:00.004-05:00

I'm wearing a black turtleneck and blue jeans in honor of Steve Jobs recent news that he is taking a leave of absence from Apple due to further health complications.

...Okay, not really. It's actually a coincidence that I am wearing this ensemble along with having just found out about Steve. I hope that everything will be fine and he will return right back to work, as I'm sure he and his family expect very much.

Stay synced!

At the mall on my MBP. Yaay!

2009-01-13T16:33:00.006-05:00

Happy!

So I got my MacBook Pro back today. Basically the trackpad was lifting and my computer's performance had come almost to a screeching hault. It just dragged along. So I got some kind of archive-who's-a-what's-it and now it performs fabulously. However, I was told that I'll have to reinstall my entire Adobe Suite along with some other programs that alert me to missing file components and what not. It's all good, because I'm sure it's all fixable with a re-install. Hakuna matata, right? Right!

Well I just felt like updating you. :) I've been missing in action on here and it's only due to restarting back at work since the holiday break. So I'll get back and be more regular...whatever regular means for me on here.

I have Qik! Did you know that? And I'll make a twitter account exclusively for my live Qik vids--this way you're given an "alert" when I'm live.

Okay, that's it.

Stay synced!

Crunchies Live Tonight!

2009-01-09T20:47:00.005-05:00

The Crunchies 2008 will be live tonight at 7:30pm Pacific standard time--I guess that's about 9:30pm Eastern standard time. I'm interested in what we'll see tonight. :) You can watch it live via ustream on the Crunchies website live. Or....hang here and chat with me below on Ustream. :)

That's all.

Let's chat

Video clips at Ustream

Wrong in ways I can't begin to explain

2009-01-09T14:35:00.003-05:00

Permalink

Oh my!

It's not that bad!

CrackHeads..er I mean MacHeads: The Movie

2009-01-09T00:43:00.006-05:00

So I was browsing through Guy Kawasaki's blog post from his time at MacWorld and saw that a documentary called MacHeads premiered there. I watched the trailer, and let me tell you that my obsessive compulsive psycho-love for Apple is a 1 on a scale of 100 compared to some of the weirdos that got some camera time in this trailer. OMGosh! There was a woman hugging and caressing a Mac and another that doesn't date/sleep with PC users. What the french fry!! Like, I'm scared and disturbed by this. lol

Self-righteous hypocrisy aside, I find the film intriguing and want to see it. Maybe you should check it out too. MacHeads Movie It gives both PC and Mac users alike a real laugh, juxtaposed with a sobering outlook on what the *ifanboy club's future will be. The ominous question that presently looms is, "Apple is getting big like Microsoft, and the ifanboys have to get a life. What next?" Trust me when I say that I am not a die-hard Apple user. I've used PC far longer than I've ever used a Mac, and frankly prefer both equally. But these people.... *shaking head* ....no words. And I'm not referring to every Apple fan in the film, but just those few that take it beyond what is sane/appropriate/mentally healthy/socially acceptable. Just go figure. Ha!

Peace.

Stay synced!

*Die-hard fanatics of Apple, Inc brand of technology, also interchangeably referred to as the "cult of Mac" or the "cult of Apple."

Steve Jobs Is Healthy

2009-01-06T00:14:00.008-05:00

Courtesy of the frozen yogurt server in Palo Alto's Fraiche Yogurt shop, Ross Mayfield, Chairman, President & Co-Founder of SocialText and Robert Scoble, tech blogger/evangelist and video blogger for Fastcompany.com, sorta-kinda confirmed that Steve Jobs is healthy. Read and see what I mean in the excerpt from one of Mayfield's blog posts.

From Ross's blog - December 30, 2008
This afternoon I had an interview with Robert Scoble before he shot a video with me and Eugene Lee [Social Text CEO]. I mentioned that James Franco (actor, Spiderman's frenemy, and grew up in Palo Alto like me) was at Fraiche Yogurt yesterday. An employee mentioned that Steve Jobs was there recently. Robert asked if he seemed healthy, and the employee confirmed. Not just because the yogurt is healthy, I assume.

Map of Fraiche Yogurt

Talk about degrees of separation, right? O_o And of course Steve Jobs is healthy. :) Thanks Ross and Robert!

Stay synced!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2009-01-04T01:27:00.010-05:00

I went to see the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and let me tell you that it was so very good. I enjoyed it considerably! I will venture to say that it is a motion picture adaptation of the original short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald (read the whole story), the writer of "The Great Gatsby," a book that I have read. And to follow that I have also read the original short story of Benjamin Button.

Without spoiling things, the movie follows the curious life of a man that is born around eighty years of age and begins to age backwards as time passes. Benjamin experiences so many things--adventures that this film treated with such breathtaking and miraculous care. It is visually beyond satisfying and the musical score is gorgeous to say the least. The score was written by Alexandre Desplat, a composer with a number of other recent and familiar film scores under his belt (i.e. The Golden Compass, Lust Caution, The Painted Veil, and the The Queen).

Suffice it to say that if you cannot already tell how enamored I am with this movie, then take another look at the lovely piece of work up top. hehe ;) It took approximately two and a half hours of typography research, Photoshop and Illustrator work. I think it's pretty good for a novice in graphic design.

Why did I make it, you ask? I like the movie (duh!), and I love my iPhone. But I have this little problem with my phone because no matter what update Apple puts out, it seems the problems that were supposedly fixed all come back. My iPhone is aging backwards I tell you! Before you know it I'll probably have a 1st Generation iPhone 2G. And then, "Poof!" it will disappear. *screaming* Just kidding. Let's just hope that doesn't happen. lol

For all you iPhone owners if you haven't read the story, you can download the The Curious Case of Benjamin Button application from the iTunes App Store. (I learned about this while searching for something else and stumbled upon magnetismstudios.com. They make t-shirts, web sites, and Mac apps.)

Anyway, here is the trailer for Benjamin Button if you haven't already seen it. Then hit up your local movie theater and enjoy it, as I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Stay synced!

At the beach

2009-01-03T14:09:00.001-05:00

At the beach, originally uploaded by MacDavid Pro.

It's my last Saturday on holiday vacation before work on Monday, so
I'm livin' it up! ;)

Quote: On YouTube

2008-12-28T11:42:00.005-05:00

Young people today don’t read blogs or even Twitter, their on YouTube. Who’s to say if Charles Dickens were alive today maybe he to would be making videos on YouTube.

--from Neuronspark in response to Keep Acting Like YouTube Is About Skateboarding Dogs

Easy Steps To Remove the Blogger Nav Bar

2008-12-27T13:05:00.012-05:00

Removing the blogger nav bar was a complete mystery to me before I started learning CSS, and even then you don't need to know CSS if somehow just shows you step-by-step.

Guess what? That's exactly what I'm going to do right now.

Step 1

First you will need to log into your blogger.com account. Once you're there you need to click on "Layout."

Step 2

Then click on "Edit HTML."

Step 3

Copy the following into your blogger template to the bottom of the "Variable definitions" section in the CSS, just before the "Header" section. (Just copy and paste this:

#navbar-iframe { height:0px; visibility:hidden; display:none; }

Click to enlarge Step 4

Finally, click "Save Template." And voila, you're done!

When you view your blog, it should look like this--without the bar.

Click to enlarge

Good luck! And you know the drill...

Stay synced!

Yiying Lu: Nominate "Fail Whale" creator for Short Awards

2008-12-26T22:01:00.008-05:00

Most twitterers are familiar with the infamous "Fail Whale" (shown below) but I'm confident that many of them don't know the fabulous person behind the creation of the whale. Allow me to introduce you to Yiying Lu. She is an absolutely wonderful graphic designer with a very distinct point of view. I personally love her work a lot.

Now this is where the Shorty Awards comes into play. The Shorty Awards are recognizing the world's top Twitterers. All you have to do is tweet your chosen nominee to @shortyawards with the @nomineesname and a #category, followed by why you think the person should win.

Example: @shortyawards I nominate @yiyinglu for a Shorty Award in #design because...her work is simply clean, well-done, and original!

Or you can go directly to shortyawards.com and type all of the same information into the form that they have prepared. @yiyingLu has been nominated a number of times so far, and I strongly recommend that you show some love and give her a nomination. Consider it a nice holiday gift. ;)

One more thing. You can vote for as many people as you'd like, but you cannot vote for any one person more than once. Sorry.

The main categories for nominees are as follows:

#advertising
#apps
#brand
#business
#design
#education
#entertainment
#finance
#food
#green
#health
#humor
#music
#news
#nonprofits
#personal
#photography
#politics
#science
#socialmedia
#sports
#startups
#tech
#travel
#videogames
#weird

Well, that's all. You know the drill....

Stay synced!

SongToday: Dona Nobis Pacem

2008-12-25T19:34:00.004-05:00

"Dona Nobis Pacem" is Latin for "Give Us Peace."

I have time now and decided to edit my first video in my new copy of Final Cut Express. I sang this simple round to remind us to keep the peace and have goodwill toward all people.

Happy Holidays!

-MacDavid

P.S.

It isn't perfectly synced and that's a technical issue. As I get more experienced, my music videos will become more polished. Thank you for your understanding in advance!

From my blog to yours...

2008-12-25T14:56:00.006-05:00

Just want to officially wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

XO MacDavid

Merry Sync-mas

2008-12-25T02:52:00.003-05:00

Merry Sync-mas, originally uploaded by MacDavid Pro.

Totally jazzed up my iPhone for the holidays! ;)

K g'night....wait, I hear sleigh bells!

I better feign sleep before Santa doesn't give me that Asus EEE PC
laptop that I want. Ooooh, I want it so bad. Anyway...

Merry Chtistmas to all and to all a good night!

Passed my classes!

2008-12-22T10:40:00.004-05:00

This quarter at the Art Institute for me was among the most rigorous experiences that I've had since going back to school (have a Bachelor of Choral Music Education from the University of Florida). In terms of time management, project management and overall difficulty of the assignments themselves, it was all very taxing but enriching. I am so happy to have finished and so I'm greatly enjoying my two weeks off from work as well.

Oh yeah, I work a full-time teaching job at the same time and I teach a boychoir once a week as well, not to mention after school rehearsal with my music students in chorus. While handling all of this is crazy, I somehow managed to succeed with all of it. oh, happy day!! :)

Well, that's it.

Later!

Christmas in Fort Lauderdale

2008-12-21T22:25:00.004-05:00

As some of you may or may not know, I live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and basically it doesn't snow nor hardly get cold here, comparatively speaking. So I decided to share a little poem that a co-worker gave to the staff where I work. I hope you like it. Enjoy!

Christmas in Fort Lauderdale

'Twas the night before Christmas and all thru our town, no noses were frozen, no snow fluttered down.

No children in flannels were tucked into bed, they all wore shorty pajamas instead.

To find wreaths of holly was not very hard, for holly trees sprouted in the back yard.

In front of the houses were Daddies and Moms, admiring the bushes and coconut palms.

The slumbering kiddies were dreaming in glee in hopes they'd find water skis under the tree.

They all knew that Santa was well on his way, in a Corvette instead of a sleigh.

And soon he arrived and started to work He hadn't a second to linger or shirk.

He whizzed o'er the highways and zoomed up the roads, in his shiny sports car delivering his loads.

The tropical moon gave the city a glow and lighted the way for Santa below.

As he jumped from the auto he gave a wee chuckle, he was dressed in Bermudas and Ivy League buckle.

There weren't chimneys but that caused no gloom, for Santa came in thru the Florida room.

He stopped at each house and stayed but a minute and emptied his sack of the goodies within it.

Before he departed he treated himself, to the Pina Colada left up on the shelf.

Then he turned with a jerk and bounced to his car remembering he still had to go very far.

He stepped on the gas and put it in gear, and drove thru our tunnel singing with cheer.

And I heard him exclaim as he went on his way "Merry Christmas, Fort Lauderdale, I wish I could stay."

Happy Holidays!

-MacDavid

Stay synced!

Running errands. Come watch?

2008-12-19T17:20:00.003-05:00

Just happy that my two week break has begun and so I decided to lifecast a little bit while I'm out and about, running errands. Come watch?

My Christmas Wishlist 2008

2008-12-18T21:49:00.004-05:00

I don't really have a long wishlist at all, to tell you the truth. All I want is an ultra-portable MSI, Acer, or ASUS mini laptop with an Intel Atom processor. And yes, I know this sounds absolutely blasphemous for such a huge iFanboy, but what can I say. I just have a desire for one, ok!! ;) *whispering* I'll explain later.

But enough about me 'cause this post is about this awesome kid in the video!

Apple iPeople for life!!!! W00t!!

Stay synced!

At the Apple Store

2008-12-13T17:41:00.002-05:00

One thing I forgot to mention in the video is that my work laptop is up the creek too. So I've been hit with a double wammy! And here's what I mean, I'm at the Apple Store because my MBP is slooooooowing dooown and I'm not happy about it. Turns out my harddrive is too full. Duh! I should have known that was the problem. Anyway. That's all! Ho hum! See ya and stay synced!

The Bloody Olive

2008-12-13T09:33:00.003-05:00

This was very cool! I don't want to spoil anything, but will say to just stick with it. Besides, it's hardly long at all.

Iron Man iPhone Game

2008-12-12T20:58:00.004-05:00

Update 12/13/08

Below are the screen shots from the App Store for Iron Man: Aerial Assault for the iPhone. And thus far it as received two nice reviews.

It's not well known just yet, but I think it will change very soon.

Also, here is link directly to the game in iTunes for $7.99.

Have fun!

Stay synced!

_______________________________________________________________________________

Yesterday 12/12/08

Iron Man iPhone Game, originally uploaded by MacDavid Pro.

I just received this message from Paramount that Iron Man is on the iPhone. I'll update this post when I get back to my laptop. 'Til then...Stay synced!

Playing w/Camera Bag again

2008-12-08T16:14:00.003-05:00

I got stuck at work in the parking lot because the gate remains locked at certain times and basically wound up photographing myself.

Just a narcissistic boy and his iPhone.

......what??? Don't you look at me in that tone of voice! Just kidding...later! ;)

MacDavid

I feel it

2008-12-08T02:32:00.005-05:00

I just want to share by saying that there are many things about this time of year that make me absolutely happy. Tonight I feel the spirit of Christmas has arrived.

Again, that's all I want and have to say. :)

MacDavid

Something strange in the sky!

2008-12-05T15:29:00.003-05:00

There was something totally strange in the sky a couple days ago. I meant to upload this earlier, but anyway...here it is. Watch and gawk! What could it be? ;)

Stay synced!

December Madness...Gets-ta-steppin'!

2008-12-04T21:02:00.004-05:00

Here is a rather long impromptu Metoday (example of a MeToday) that I did on viddler.com. This is just a low-key "Wooo, let me release and vent" type video. I had to put my thoughts and feelings somewhere and this is what I chose to do with them.

Oh! Small update and hint. I am working on a small personal project idea. Basically it had occurred to me that I stream a portion of my life online anyway, so I'll put it all in one dedicated location. Sooo, yeah that is coming along. Just need time to finish it up. Oh, about the hint..the name of my project is "iSync - Life." Yeah, I know, totally unoriginal. But hey, I'm not denying it. :)

'Til next time folks, you know the drill...

Stay synced!

Think Differently

2008-12-03T02:21:00.002-05:00

This had me laughing my butt off!! Mr. Mobs?! LOL!

Enjoy i:)

Pownce is shutting down!

2008-12-03T00:34:00.010-05:00

For the most part this is a re-post of a recent announcement from Six Apart. Basically, Pownce.com has been acquired by Six Apart, the makers of Movable Type, TypePad, and Vox. It's sad to hear of another social media site shutting down in these hard times. And if by chance you are a Pownce user, make sure to check out the following important details for exporting your content.

Pownce.com will be shut down by December 15, 2008. If you would like to keep your content, we have created an export tool to assist you under Settings > Export. But please be sure to have exported your content by December 15, 2008 as it will not be accessible after that date. Read more...

So get exporting ASAP! Otherwise, it's bye-bye to anything you've uploaded and shared with friends on pownce.com. Chop-chop!!

Stay synced!

Other sources:

Nominate Qik.com for the Crunchies!

2008-12-01T22:57:00.006-05:00

I love using qik.com for live streaming video directly from my iPhone, as do many other people. Some of my viddler.com pals have even pwned their iPhones to use Qik as well (Brandice and Edwinv just to name a few).

So if you are a current Qik user or are new to it but think that it's way cool, then nominate Qik for The Crunchies now! Hurry! :)

Stay sycned!

64 Days - Part 4

2008-11-29T18:57:00.003-05:00

Here is Part 4 (Episode 10) of the Project Pedal. I finally had a moment to sit down and watch this after a crazy number of days with no real down time for myself. Don't have much to say right now, but just encourage whoever is reading this post to check out more of Project Pedal and prepare to be inspired. That's all. :)

Oh, and so you have an idea what this video is somewhat about here is a direct description from Mike and Amanda's site:

"64 is a behind-the-scenes video series shot during the filming of 'for thousands of miles' in the summer of 2007."

The video above is part 2, so for more go to sixtyfourdays.com

Stay synced!

Video notes:

So - a brief introduction to this episode. This is the 9th episode overall that we've put out, and it's the 4th chapter in the 64 Days series. It introduces in greater detail the three crew members: Olan, Olivier, and Jef. Who all flew out from Belgium to work on Pedal without any pay... at least yet, I hope I'll be able to change that when the film is finished *fingers crossed*

Our time on the road with them taught us both so much. It was an experience I will never forget - and never really know how to properly put into words. Well, enough talk. I hope you enjoy it. Amanda and I worked very hard on it.

If you do enjoy it, as always we'd love to hear your comments and questions - but also, if you have a twitter account, we'd really be flattered if you send out a quick twitter about it.

Here's a link to the PDF of episode 9's script http://tr.im/1ftz - This was scanned in about two weeks ago, so you'll notices some slight differences in what's typed out and what ended up in the timeline. We tend to make small changes and rearrange the edit up until the last minute.

Thanks for being so patient with us - and thanks for all the support.

Rant On The Black Friday Trampling

2008-11-29T01:30:00.001-05:00

*shaking head*

iPhone: Apple vs Everybody

2008-11-25T22:15:00.006-05:00

For as successful as the iPhone has been Apple is certainly gaining almost as much trouble.

Apple has been "slapped" with yet another suit, but this time over the way the internet browser works. Upon reading that I about choked on my saliva.

"A month after being granted U.S. patent No. 7,441,196, a company in Los Angeles called EMG Technology is suiding Apple for 'the way the iPhone navigates the Internet,' according to a press release."

-Eric Schonfeld, TechCrunch

Eye-popping quote: "A Whale of an Opportunity"

2008-11-25T19:23:00.006-05:00

...Twitter is in the unique position to define the platform [micromessaging] on its own terms. If Twitter provides tools that allow users to integrate their messages, social graph, and discovery mechanism with all other systems, Twitter in effect becomes the Post Office of the new messaging paradigm.

-Steve Gillmor, TechCrunchIT

MACWORLD Buying Advice on Contribute CS4

2008-11-24T01:54:00.003-05:00

"Adobe has increased Contribute CS4’s standalone price by $50, and the upgrade price by $20 over the CS3 pricing. However, most people will be getting the program as part of a CS4 suite upgrade, where it is essentially free with the rest of the package.

For individual users of the standalone product, Contribute CS4 is not a worthy upgrade, due to the lack of compelling new features. Larger companies may benefit from the improved workflow options, and you need to update all of your copies of Contribute if you want to take advantage of the new collaborative features. But if you are pleased with Contribute CS3, you will probably not find the changes in this version to be worth the upgrade cost."

- Tom Negrino, Macworld.com

Another Qik.com clone: LiveCliq.net

2008-11-23T10:06:00.013-05:00

So there is a new site much like Qik.com and Flixwagon.com called Livecliq.net. It primarily does the same as the two more well-known sites. You can download the client (iPhone users must jailbreak their phones), register, and you're off to stream a live video feed directly from your phone to the web.

However, it offers something that the others do not. You can record a video without live streaming, and then upload it afterward. This almost makes me like LiveCliq more than Qik.com. So to rank them I will officially put the three sites in the following order:

1. Qik.com
2. Livecliq.net
3. Flixwagon.com

Now, before I made any additional use of the site, I felt the strange and urgent need to check the Terms of Service (TOS). It reads such that it appears that LiveCliq can do what ever they wish with your submissions to their site. Compared to other TOS documents on sites like qik.com, youtube.com and facebook.com, which while not clear to me, do not seem to claim exclusive irrevocable license rights to your content whereas LiveCliq does. The legal language is a little hard to understand, but I think I might be right.

Also, while a lot of the sites user's currently appear to be throughout Europe, parts of the Mediterranean and Asia, LiveCliq is San Francisco based company with software developers in the US and Europe. Furthermore it's leaders come from among some big name companies such as Apple, Microsoft XBox, Motorola, and MobiTV.

Check it out and if you have feedback on the their Terms of Service, by all means please share in the comments thread of this post becase it definitely reads differently from most other sites TOS. Thanks a bunch in advance!

Stay synced!

iMobileCinema for iPhone and Touch

2008-11-22T18:14:00.005-05:00

Here is a clear reason why I bother to go through the trouble of jailbreaking my iPhone. iMobileCinema is one of the things that I have been longing for from the beginning, but I only wish Apple would do it. I don't want a hack.

iMobileCinema is an iPhone hack that will allow you to play Flash video on any site be it YouTube, Hulu, video on blogs, you name it! But honestly I don't care who comes up with an official player in the future (Apple or Adobe), I just want to be able to view flash video period on any site I visit with my iPhone.

Now the downside with the current hack is that it's for the 1.x iPhone and Touch firmware. Sucks, I know, but patience is a virtue. :) I can wait.

...until then I hope you're as excited as me if you're a fellow iPhone owner.

Stay synced!

Techradar.com's review on iPhone 2.2 firmware

2008-11-22T16:59:00.003-05:00

Here is a nice review of the new iPhone 2.2 firmware update.

Enjoy! Stay synced!

Teen Commits Suicide Live On Justin.tv

2008-11-22T14:06:00.014-05:00

I just learned of some disturbing news of a teen, who happens to live in the same city as me (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), that committed suicide live on justin.tv. I am still floored by this and have no words for how it terrifies me.

To briefly recap, the young man's name is Abraham K. Biggs, a 19-year-old college student. He apparently suffered from bipolar disorder, but according to his family, was just fine. During his final broadcast, he told the viewers that he was going to commit suicide, and took a large dose of pills (a combination of opiates and benzodiazepine), but not without provocation by the live viewers. At this point the viewers thought it was a joke, especially since he kept breathing for hours after intake, but little did they know that it was a slow and silent death. There were many things said in the chat room (which sits right by the live video feed), so I'm sure they are regretting their insensitive comments by now. However, there were some that were concerned enough to track down Abraham and call the local authorities.

For more information, you can read the report at sun-sentinel.com.

I want to express my deepest heartfelt condolences for Abraham's family. I'm sure they are absolutely reeling from this unfortunate event. It's unimaginable how his family is currently feeling. While technology is amazing, we have come face-to-face with the dark sided use of the web and technology (that's not to point blame, however). Notice that I said "dark sided use" as oppose to saying the dark side of technology. The technology isn't the problem but what can happen with use. Also, I am not talking about Abraham's actions, but rather the fact that the viewers in the chat egged him Abraham on to commit suicide, according to reports. It is just absolutely sick that people would engage in such behavior whether this incident was real or not.

Rest in peace Abraham.

MacDavid

Other news source(s): NewTeeVee: 19-year-old commits suicide on Justin.tv

CNET: Teen Commits suicide on Justin.tv

PwnageTool 2.2

2008-11-21T23:45:00.005-05:00

blog.iphone-dev.org

I was happily getting ready to update my iPhone software when I realized that I pwned my iPhone. The Pwn developers are working to get an operative update for us jailbreaking people, as it isn't ready yet. Check out the info on the iPhone Pwn 2.2 update in detail for yourself here. Stay synced! :)

MySpace URL

2008-11-15T18:33:00.001-05:00

MySpace URL, originally uploaded by MacDavid Pro.

I received this email and REALLY believe that it's a huge hack scam.
I've gone for longer periods of time without logging into my account
and never got this kind of notice. Eh...

"Fieldrunners" iPhone Game

2008-11-13T21:21:00.006-05:00

Lately I've been addicted to a cool iPhone app called Fieldrunners. It will supply you with hours of "strategizing" fun.

As you can see from the photo above, as you fight off intruders you gain money to buy more towers to assist you with destroying more intruders from your fortress. Your choice of towers are automatic guns, green goo/oil, rocket missiles, and electric shock.

It is really a lot of fun to find ways to slow down and destroy the enemy. Go ahead, give it a try! Get it from iTunes: Fieldrunners. You can see how many times I've played and how many waves of intruders I defeated during each game. My highest scores shows me having survived 100 waves. Go Team MacDavid!

Stay synced!

Mushi-shi

2008-11-11T11:27:00.003-05:00

I recently saw two episodes of an anime called Mushi-shi. It is such a gorgeous series. At first it seems right off that it would be a bore-fest, but it is NOT--at least not to me. I'm really sentimental and love fantastical things, but I digress.

Mushi-shi appears to not be a type of anime with a continuous plot like most in that there is a main character on some epic journey or sappy love story. This is not, however to say that there isn't a main character, as two are recurring. There is a man named Ginko, a Mushi Master, and the various places he travels to as he hears of encounters or phenomena related to the Mushi. Morever, each episode is indirectly centered around him and his destinations since they always start with the story plot, then weaves back to him. The second character, or perhaps I should say characters, are the Mushi themselves. I would go into what they are and their role, but I would prefer you watch the show.

Above is the first episode called "The Green Seat." Watch it and get sucked into the start of an interesting series of stories, one episode to the next. This episode is the first of the first season of this series of twenty-six episodes. Enjoy more of Mushi-shi at hulu.com!

Stay synced!

Will-i-am

2008-11-11T09:00:00.001-05:00

Will has produced a new video, "It's a new day!" following up his "Yes we can" video, which was very popular in early January! Thoughts?

Busy okay!

2008-11-10T19:55:00.002-05:00

"David where have you been? You're not blogging!"

I know, I know and I'll catch up starting when tomorrow. I even promised a new friend on twitter that I'd explain what MarioSMS is--I recently installed on my iPhone and absolutely love!!

Suffice it to say, in good enough time folks. In good enough time!

*hugs*

MacDavid

Obama FTW!

2008-11-05T00:57:00.005-05:00

I say the following as an African American male that has reaped the benefits of the work of my parents, their parents and beyond to my ancestors. I believe that President Elect Obama is further fulfilling and realizing a dream that is decades long in the making. Martin Luther King, Jr. planted a seed. It was watered by many Americans that believed in that dream, and the root system grew beneath the ground. Though it was hard to tell what we would yield, enough understood that the water for that seed was and still is hope. That hope has been more realized and brought to fruition this November 4, 2008 and I am so happy and proud to declare Barack Obama as President of the United States of America. I love this country so very much, for at this very moment I feel such a strong sense of renewed hope in the American Dream. Most of all I hope that you feel the same way regardless of whom you felt was worthy of your vote.

While standing in line to vote early Sunday afternoon I was asked if I would volunteer with the Obama campaign and hesitantly signed up. Hours later my mother called telling me that I was told to be at Obama HQ in the Fort Lauderdale area at 9:00am November 4, 2008. I showed up on election day and for three and half hours my volunteering partner, her grandchildren and I canvassed for Obama, knocking on 131 doors combined to ensure that as many people as possible had the opportunity to vote, no matter the difficulty. Transporters were on stand by, and assistance for those with disabilities and mobility issues were even prepared. I was greatly moved by my experience and remain moved by it. On any other day for another purpose I most likely would have been daunted and absolutely bothered by the thought of going out of my way to reach out to other people (Yes, I'll admit I'm as selfish as they come). But strangely I yielded to the sway of peace and good will toward others. More importantly, I feel changed by it and must reach out more in the coming years. I was taught as a child that the poor, the sick and the widow will always be with us in every society on earth. So as such we should reach out and give willingly of our own measure to those in need. Suffice it to say, I felt good about what I achieved today. Again, for some who may read this, Obama may not have been your choice for president, but you have to admit that he brought a strong sense of integrity and service to the table.

Folks, we have made history and the world is watching. What will America do next? Barack told us "yes we can" to so many things that remain ahead of us and so we will strive. I believe we will reclaim our broken economy. I believe we will bring our soldiers home as safely as possible, while leaving the Middle East in a stable predicament. And I also believe that we will renew and restore America's good name as a stable superpower in the global community.

I don't normally speak so openly of politics on this blog, but I think the occasion warrants an exception. Finally, as I've said in a few previous posts in so many words, this is my blog and I'll gush on topics that love if I want to. :)

God bless you and God bless America! -MacDavid

Zagg's Invisible Shield for iPhone 3G

2008-11-03T22:25:00.005-05:00

I saw this and was amazed. I plan on buying this very soon for two main reasons.

1. I hate having a case on my iPhone because I absolutely love how it looks and feels. Gorgeous!

2. I, however, fear the fact that when I hold it without a case I will drop it. (I'll never confess if I dropped mine. Feign ignorance!)

Zagg's Invisible Shield protects the plastic backing of the iPhone from scatching and gashing when dropped or rubbed against, say, your keys or loose change in your pocket.

If you feel the same as I do, then I highly recommend coughing up the money for this amazing product. Watch the promo video above and prepare your "Wow!"

Here is what Zagg is promising in terms of performance:

Scratch-Proof, patented film
Military Grade
Lifetime Guarantee
No added bulk
Improves grip
Invisible protection

You can purchase the front coverage for $14.95, the back coverage for $18.95 or full coverage body for $24.95.

I think that it will be well worth what is really a small investment in a rather expensive, but marvelous device--with a semi-sucky warranty, yet understandably established in terms of good business.

I hope this grabs your fancy as it did mine!

Stay synced!

Harvest Moon

2008-11-03T09:38:00.001-05:00

Harvest Moon, originally uploaded by MacDavid Pro.

Cubanguy on brightkite posted this photo and it made me laugh so
hard. Who thinks up this kind of stuff. Goodness gracious!

-MacDavid

I voted!

2008-11-02T20:44:00.001-05:00

I voted!, originally uploaded by MacDavid Pro.

I respect people for trying to remain silent on their blogs as far as
politics are concerned. But to be frank, on this election year that
is flat out SILLY!

I VOTED!! w00t!!!

Quarantine

2008-11-02T07:37:00.002-05:00

I recently saw a movie called Quarantine. Let me get right to the point and say that I was frightened to death while watching this movie. I wasn't really expecting to be scared to the point that I would walk out of the theater trembling, and then tremble all the way home as well. There are just no words. It may not look as scary from the trailers since they seem to reveal so much, but they really aren't. And I'll go ahead and drop the bad news that it is a American remake of a Spanish film--that's hard to find a copy of, mind you--called [REC].

Now don't go and watch [REC] first without giving the American one a try. And I know that there are people that will strongly disagree with me on this. But I don't care, see Quarantine first, then you can go dig up *hint, hint* [REC] on the internet later.

'Til next post... Stay synced. P.S. Sorry I've been MIA for a little while. I've been fighting for my life the past few days. I'm fine now though. I'll share more as the days go by about the truth that was almost completely contained.

Trying out Camera Bag iPhone App

2008-10-24T20:14:00.007-04:00

Trying out Camera Bag iPhone App, originally uploaded by MacDavid Pro.

The effect above is Helga. Pretty nice! There are different effects that you can apply to your pics: Helga, 1974, Cinema, Lolo, and 1962. It allows you to change the resolution (larger ones take longer to process, however). It costs $2.99 in the App Store and I believe it's worth it. Check it out!

MacDavid in Four Eyed Monsters

2008-10-24T02:18:00.003-04:00

Episode - 13 - Guilt, Depression, Acceptance and Hope

So tonight I randomly decided to revisit the Four Eyed Monsters website and much to my pleasant surprise my mug is smack-dab on the main page. Also, in this video at the beginning, you will see my face pop up very briefly. Why am I pointing this out? Well, this is the 13th Episode, which I have, but my copy doesn't have the snapshots of people that purchased the DVD.

See back when I learned that the film was coming to DVD at Borders earlier this year I made sure to hop over to my local store and pick it up. Shortly that night I think I posted the photo of me having purchased it in the store on this blog. A couple weeks later, Arin Crumley paid a little visit to my blog to leave a comment, probably to request my permission to use the my picture, but my comments weren't working.

Anyway, I really want to say that I am still floored that my pic was used. Truly, I'm happy he did. I just wish I knew earlier so that I could be even more excited. lol! Eh, it's all good! Thanks Arin! It just so happens that I put FEM back on my iPhone this morning to watch it. I love it!

If you've never heard of Four Eyed Monsters, then by all means check out the site at the link way above.

Stay synced!

At the Apple Store: Trying the New MacBook

2008-10-19T18:15:00.003-04:00

I paid my local Apple Store a visit and I recorded a short video on viddler.com from one of the new MacBook Pros! It's so amazing! So much more cooler than the previous, literally! It doesn't heat as badly as the previous model. Anyway, the screen is gorgeous and the mouse pad is cool as well. Funny it doesn't feel like glass, and it takes some getting used to. I don't find anything disappointing about this new release from Apple. Rock on!

Thanks Tubemogul!

2008-10-16T01:01:00.003-04:00

I recently received a t-shirt in the mail from Tubemogul. Waaaay cool! :) I meant to blog about this when I got it, but ya know...

I hope you're having a fabulous week. :)

Stay synced!

Music Artist of the Week - Project

2008-10-11T20:32:00.000-04:00

This is a truly unique group of performers that have mixed jazz, fusion, and hip-hop all built up on their classical roots. On Flute is Greg Pattillo, Cello is Eric Stephenson, and on Bass, Peter Seymour. All three are classically trained and very experienced musicians--ranging from music educators to professional performance.

It just so happens that tomorrow (October 18, 2008) they will be in performing live in New York City. I strongly recommend that Brooklyn and NYC dwellers hop over to see these guys as it will be a great experience. Personally, I absolutely love it when I see such a unique fusion of classical music with the mainstream musical styles of the day. Totally exciting! Read and learn more about this amazing group by visiting whatisproject.org.

Tale Spin theme song

2008-10-11T01:43:00.007-04:00

This was the hotness when I was in elementary school in the early 90s. Yes, I am only 26 people, young and beautiful! (Warning from here on out the rest is just thoughts that poured out of my head, unedited.)

I remember coming home, throwing my book bag in my room and hitting the power button on the television. I would watch the following cartoons in whatever order they came on TV33. Tale Spin, Darkwing Duck, Ducktales, Power Rangers (the original)--of course I was in middle school by then. On Nickelodean, I would watch Rugrats, Doug, Guts, Are You Afraid of the Dark and later down the years, Real Monsters... Oh my gosh I just remembered two things from further back, Round House and Clarissa Explains. There was also this extremely sick, extremely dry-humored and cynical show that I used to watch on MTV called Daria. I loved it because I felt JUST like her. Those were some dark, dark years for me. Let me not forget old school X-Men and The Pheonix Saga. Sooooooo awesome!!

My goodness, the 90s had some awesome quality kid shows and cartoons, and I am totally missing a whole lot more great 'toons that I enjoyed. These days I am not liking the stuff kids watch today, not including Spongebob Squarepants, as I do watch that. Beyond Spongebob, I have matured to watching anime. My best friend Bobby introduced me to Hellsing and the amazing work of Hayao Miyazaki. Before that, my big brother in my fraternity gave me a VHS set of Fushigiyugi, a series that was never completed. These two things set me on the path of Otaku...well not hardcore by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm there; totally dork-a-fied.

I know that I'm rambling through this post, but I don't care. I just had to reminisce! *looking around* Nope, don't need anyone's permission. :)

Regardless of your generation, what are some of your favorite television watching experiences from your youth?

Stay synced!

Twilight now live!

2008-10-10T01:43:00.003-04:00

The trailer for the motion picture adaptation of Stephanie Meyer's teen novel "Twilight" has been released. Check it out!

Google Street View on iPhone?

2008-10-09T22:23:00.007-04:00

"As an iPhone user, I want to be able to have access to any awesome apps released for the Android..." -Scott Nichols, PC World

Those of you that have used Google Maps before may have experienced a still fairly new feature called Google Street View (here on I will refer to this feature as GSV). GSV is basically an interactive panoramic view of a particular area that you can look up on Google Maps. By clicking and holding your mouse you can change your point to see the surrounding environment of your chosen location.

This isn't the main thing that I want to talk about though. As I have already blogged in a previous post, Google's Android phone (G1) aka "Poor Man's iPhone" has an awesome maps application that does exactly what's been demonstrated in the video above simply by changing your direction with the G1 in your hand. Absolutely phenomenal!

Of course, there are iPhone owner's that I'm sure definitely hope that this app isn't exclusive to the G1, and it appears that it isn't. Scott Nichols from a PC World article on the subject stated,

"Personally, I say forget exclusivity. Making an app exclusive to either format limits a developers audience, which in turn limits a developer's profits (and resources for future developments). So from a developer's side it doesn't make sense. As an iPhone user, I want to be able to have access to any awesome apps released for the Android..."

And the iPhone users said, "Amen!!" But there's more. Nichols also mentioned that in the iPhone 2.2 firmware, not yet released, there are rumors of the feature to be included among other things, one of which I'll mention. (There is talk of a on/off option for the auto-correction when typing on the iPhone. You can read more about it in the article link above.)

Here is an example of GSV on the Android below.

In the meantime... Stay synced!

Music Artist of the Week - The Presets & Sigur Ros

2008-10-09T14:24:00.000-04:00

This week is a double feature of two very contrasting musical groups. First we have the Presets, one of Australia's returning top electronic-pop musical artists after a two-year silence. The duo's members are Julian Hamilton and Kimberley Isaac Moyes, co-writer and co-producer. The music that you are watching in the video above is from their 2008 album release "Apocalypso".

Their music is well known in the Sydney club scene, but don't be frightened away to thinking it's all just pulsing beats and bobble head people in a club--I think it's far from it. However, my personal opinion is if the music makes you move, then by all means cut a rug, so to speak. In other words, get up and dance!

Their influences range from other music artists like The Smiths, Bjork, Beethoven, Shostakovich, New Order, and Bela Bartok to name a few. Furthermore, based on what I've read about them, a passage in their bio hints that they may be classically trained musicians: "Julian and Kim had first met a decade earlier as tearaway students at Sydney's Conservatorium of Music: by day they were battling Beethoven, by night sweating it out in seedy clubs..."

Here is what one reviewer had to say about their music in iTunes:

"The Presets have done the impossible with their second disc--they've bridged the gap between aging Depeche Mode fans, recovering new-wave addicts, and hipsters who actually know how (or aren't afraid) to dance."

Check out The Presets on iTunes including their new album and enjoy! You can also learn more about them and get up to date info by visiting thepresets.com and modularpeople.com/thepresets

The next artist shares something in common with The Presets, and that was a re-emergence after a two-year silence as well. The group's name is Sigur Ros, and at first their music left me thinking, "What in the world...??" But I stuck it out and later found that I am very intrigued by them. Watch the video and you might see what I mean.

Sigor Ros hails from Iceland with Jon Por Birgisson on vocals and guitars, Kjartan Sveinsson on keyboards, Orri Pall Dyrason on drums, and Georg Holm on bass. Despite the a good number of sites for the quartet, there is little information provided about the groups history, save Wikipedia, and we know the inherent problem with the latter. So I am choosing to focus on the largest project to date and that is their documentary film "Heima," which essentially means "home" in the Icelandic language.

This group literally went with no holds barred as far as shooting their performance in a documentary style. Basically a crew of 40 people shot scenes all over their homeland (Iceland), ranging from a highland wilderness, ghost towns, national parks, artistic shrines, community halls and the middle of nowhere, combined with long almost hypnotic shots of their light show performances. The eeriest thing for me are the large audiences standing stark still and focused solidly on this band remaining almost as still, were they not playing their instruments. It is simply a kind of performance I've never seen before.

While very different from the norm and I hope you'll look into this band, you can listen to their music and purchase it directly from their site sigurros.com. And of course you can check out Sigur Ros on iTunes.

Thanks for reading. Sorry that both features are extremely late.

Stay synced!

MacDavid

Obama: Everything he can't and wouldn't say ;)

2008-10-08T20:31:00.006-04:00

I learned about Alphacat (the impressionist above) from my subscription to Lisa Nova's channel where she posted this same video. Wowza! He is spot on in his impression of Barack Obama. Oh, but what he says is everything Obama cannot say, and most likely would NOT say. :)

Finally, here is the version below that Lisa Nova uploaded without the background music.

Nokia 2 aka "5800 Xpress Music" has Qik already!

2008-10-06T00:29:00.006-04:00

Dear Steve,

The new Nokia 2 came equipped with Qik. Please make sure the new iPhone 3 code name i-something-other-than-name-"Phone" needs to be video capable. :) ......... while I'm at it.... Sheesh, for all we know--based on recent trends *cough*--there might be a new iPhone next February, no? So Just so you are aware of what pertinent changes need to be made/added/dropped, the "phone", that's number one on my wishlist...just get rid of the name , pa-leeease!! Oh, did I fail to mention, add cut-and-paste with an everlasting battery, maybe nuclear. It's a good thing mobiles don't run on gasoline, otherwise you'd have customers sayin', "Drill, baby, drill!" K Bye. Florida!!

Sync-ly yours,

MacDavid

Font Conference

2008-10-05T18:52:00.006-04:00

Some of you MAY have seen this, as collegehumor.com is pretty popular for it's well done comedy video shorts. Nevertheless, I saw this on a jokes discussion at Epicfu's community site, Mix. One person on their said that they like Wingdings and I didn't know what exactly she meant, but now that I've seen the video I think Wingdings is cool too! Check it out! Any techie geek PC or Mac user will get it! Otherwise, this video will probably be a total loss on you.

On Facebook

2008-10-05T16:06:00.002-04:00

So I think I got as much feedback as I'm going to get. I didn't get a whole lot, but I am grateful. I'm going to move on to putting it all together and work on a blog post about it.

Thanks again to those that have replied.

-MacDavid

I got a Domo!!!!

2008-10-04T18:00:00.001-04:00

I got a Domo!!!!, originally uploaded by MacDavid Pro.

But I call it a Nom nom nom. And of course I had to get some candy
corn. Soooooooooo goooood!!!!

Guy's pants run away

2008-10-02T23:43:00.004-04:00

Oh my gosh, this guy's pants totally ran away from him!

Biz Stone Watches Gossip Girl

2008-10-02T17:19:00.006-04:00

I am not saying that Biz Stone, Twitter.com Co-founder, loves to watch Gossip Girl, but he just happened to mention on Twitter that he was watching it. In all honesty, I think it's cool that he watches it. I watch it, I won't lie. I am not "in like" with it, but I find some of the episodes entertaining. Watching the show is like watching a serialized version of the movie Mean Girls, only it's in New York City.

Hey, look at this way. If you are lacking some superficial drama in your pathetic little life (being facetious), then perhaps you can get inspiration out of watching the fictional lives of the children of some of NYC's richest on the Upper East Side.

You know you love me.

XOXO

MacDavid

......LOL!!! You have to watch the show to get the "You know you love me. xoxo" part. ....whatever. Peace! lol

Orange Juice Poisoning

2008-10-02T16:14:00.006-04:00

This morning I followed my occasional morning trip to Dunkin' Donuts for my favorite Chocolate Glazed donut, not to mention they have Pumpkin now. So I get those and then I go and grab an orange juice. Now I don't normally look at the expiration date on things I buy from the store because I usually trust that it's okay. You know you do it too!!

Anyway, I pay and leave. Fifteen minutes later I'm at work. I open it and take a sip. BLECH!! It's strangely tart and sour. I immediately look at the expiration date and it says August 11, 2008!!! What the french fry!!!!!

So I poured out the juice and kept the carton to take back to the manager tomorrow morning because the guy isn't in right now. But here is something else to think about. I am fine and thankfully didn't get sick from the sip I downed. However, there were about twenty more of those juices left. How many of them were old as well? For the manager's sake, he better hope none of the rest were old.

Sarah Palin plays the flute

2008-10-01T23:38:00.003-04:00

Alaskan governor Sarah Palin plays the flute back in 1984. Interesting stuff. She's a multi-talented woman. I will add however, that she needed to work more on breath control and intonation. As you listen further into the video there are tuning issues, but not just her. The trumpet player is doing a fabulous bust up job in accompanying her. So much for a good ensemble. Good effort on her part nevertheless. :)

Good Reads

2008-10-01T18:23:00.001-04:00

I went to go deal with some matters at school but ended having to wait, so I am at Barnes and Noble killing time.

I came across two books that I would like to read, but really can't afford at the moment and they are "Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide" by Amy Shuen and Designing for the Social Web" by Joshua Porter.

Both books caught my eye because I am trying to learn more about social media on the web as well as how to design with a better understanding of the the virtual social environment.

I think I am going to check Amazon for a less expensive copy of each.

I hope everyone is having a spectacular day.

MacDavid

Stalker

2008-10-01T06:39:00.002-04:00

Stalker, originally uploaded by MacDavid Pro.

This person constantly follows me on twitter with different names and
accourts. I am outing this person publicly as much as I can so that
others don't get harassed as well.

This is an official warning to this person to stop or else.

Please take note of his/her URL

Today he/she is @plooig on twitter...for you he/she may be someone else.

New Facebook (for? or against?) Do tell!!

2008-09-30T16:59:00.007-04:00

Hi hi! I am doing a little unofficial low-key gathering of information and thoughts on what people think about the NEW Facebook. If you are not sure what I'm talking about then it is possible that you are not a Facebook user, or you've recently joined since the facelift. Regardless, you can still give feed back even if the latter applies to you.

Overall, I would like to hear what people think about the layout, the look, and feel, versus the previous layout. Or if you are one of those that are new to facebook as mentioned above, you can just post what you like or dislike about it.

I am doing this in light of a lot of negative responses floating around twitter.com and facebook.com. Don't get me wrong, I have heard positive things too, but obviously I've heard more bad than good. ...or am I just looking for it. lol! eh...

Anyway, you can leave your thoughts in the comments thread to this blog post, you can join the group on viddler.com and/or you can just reply "for" or "against" in an "@ message" or "Direct Message" on twitter.com to @macdavid.

I appreciate all that have paticipated by sending me their remarks on twitter so far.

Thanks in advance to those that will!

I will do a post showing the results when all is said and done.

MacDavid

Stay synced!

Tina Fey reprises role as Palin

2008-09-28T18:31:00.002-04:00

Funny!

Green Day said it best...

2008-09-28T18:16:00.005-04:00

Great video!

Watch T-Mobile's G1 expert demonstrate G1's features

2008-09-28T11:43:00.005-04:00

Here is vid of an expert demonstrating some features on T-Mobile's G1. Pretty cool, especially the compass overlay in Maps. When you change direction (N,S,E or W) the map changes direction with you. Kind of hard to explain at the moment, but just watch and you'll see. It's absolutely awesome!! But other than that, I want to share a bit of rumor that I've already tweeted and that this mobile is referred to as "the poor man's iPhone" due to it's low price compared to it's founding mobile-innovating predecessor, Apple's first generation iPhone (2G). I am not surprised as Apple has done it again by setting a precedent that causes other companies to follow it's lead in creative technological development, spawning iPhoneys. The iPhoney market is getting big, right?

Stay synced!

Apple sells Hong Kong unlocked iPhone 3Gs

2008-09-27T22:09:00.003-04:00

Yep it is true, Apple is allowing Hong Kong to have unlocked iPhones. Interesting!

The Apple Store in Hong Kong is selling the 8GB and 16GB iPhone 3G models for HK$5,400 (US$695) and HK$6,200, respectively, with free shipping. The store advertises the compatibility of the phones with any carrier, saying, "Simply insert the SIM [subscriber identity module] from your current phone into iPhone 3G and connect to iTunes 8 to complete activation." Read more...from MacWorld

There is no word as to whether unlocked iPhones will be offered in other markets.

Eagle Eye

2008-09-27T20:55:00.007-04:00

Click to view trailer

I went to see Eagle Eye last night and I really enjoyed it. You won't necessarily be disappointed, but I will warn that there is one area where the plot flow slows a bit, making me a little antsy. Nevertheless, Eagle Eye offers exactly what the hype has promoted.

Jerry Shaw (Shia Labeouf) is leading a rather mediocre life as a copy clerk, barely making ends meet after dropping out of Stanford two years earlier. He is self-estranged from his family and his twin brother is off in the military. In a single day his world is turned upside down when he receives one phone call that his brother is killed in an accident, but unbeknownst to him his brother's death set in motion a wave of suspense and danger when he later receives a second call from an anonymous voice whom he soon learns is everywhere. Following the call nothing is the same for him, including the life of a random stranger, Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan), whose lives are now suddenly intertwined by the same anonymous voice.

If you are interested in a suspenseful thrill-ride then this film is for you!

Stay synced!

macdavid

Free Movie but not really

2008-09-26T22:23:00.001-04:00

Free Movie but not really, originally uploaded by MacDavid Pro.

So I went to see "The House Bunny" about two weekenends ago and
received a free movie ticket for my next visit. Well as I write this
post I'm sitting in the theater after having paid $8.00 to see "Eagle
Eye." Why, you ask? Well I really want to see the movie but probably
what you want to know is why I ended up paying. Basically, Eage Eye
is "restricted" and so my "free" ticket isn't free.

I asked the cashier, "Well when is it usable?" Her response is, "We'll
tell when you get your ticket." My response,
"....................that's really disappointing." So essentially the
"free" ticket can be made unusable probably at whim.

I'm going to have some words with the manager when I leave. I would
have said something prior but I ran out of time.

Regal you suck so much right now! ...I'll get over it later. LOL!

Treats!

2008-09-25T21:45:00.001-04:00

Treats!, originally uploaded by MacDavid Pro.

I got myself a copy of the latest issue of GQ, watching CNN online,
Nesquik milkshake, and donnettes. I'm a happy guy at the moment.

Music Artist of the Week: Chairlift

2008-09-25T05:30:00.004-04:00

Full song "Bruises"

So you may or may not know the artist of choice for Apple's recent commercial for the new iPod Nano line. Their artist choice is Chairlift, with their poppy 80s throwback music. It's very like-able and actually had to grow on me. To tell you the truth, this song reminds me of the movie Mannequin and Kim Cattrall. Strange association, eh?

Anyway, there isn't a whole lot of information about the band outside of the band is primarily a Brooklyn, NY-based group, but they are making their way over to Europe for much of November and December of 2008. They are of course, on an indie label and are certainly getting much exposure thanks to Apple, Inc. If you think you're into their music then by all means, please purchase their music on iTunes.

You can check out their myspace for music listening and go to chairlieftmusic.com for booking.

Below is the Apple's iPod Nano commercial.

Is DRM stealing from us?

2008-09-25T01:29:00.005-04:00

So Zadi Diaz, host of Epic Fu at epicfu.com asked a very important question on MIX, the sites online community for the show. Her question was, "Who is the real thief, DRM or us?" Here's her thoughts, followed by my own.

I say DRM. DRM has us living in a rental culture, where we don't OWN anything anymore. I'm not sure how they think they're duping us into thinking we're buying a song or a video or a game -- but it seems they are. Take Spore for instance... How does being able to activate it only three times make it mine? I don't want to have to authorize/deuthorize/activate/deactivate and potentially get locked out of the things that I "own." What do you think? Does it make sense to you? What's the alternative?

I responded on the thread on MIX with the following:

I dislike DRM. I liken my buying experience to a very early American frame of thinking, and that is the importance of owning. In fact, at the risk of sounding extreme I think using DRM is highly un-American on a philosophical level. There is a huge sentimentality factor to consider. The fact that I am essentially being told that I don't own, I rent when I purchase a song from iTunes is like telling me that the ideas, emotions and feelings I am spending my hard-earned dollars on can't be mine to create my own individual experience. DRM is backdoor control that infringes, or better yet violates the consumer on a personal level. Also, I feel like I'm being treated like a criminal. What the french fry?!

Sound off on this same question by leaving a comment on this post and be sure to add your same response on MIX.

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Cash for your gold!

2008-09-25T00:31:00.002-04:00

Cash for your gold!, originally uploaded by MacDavid Pro.

So earlier this week I was at the Check Cashing store and noticed these signs hanging in every window as I got in line. Immediately I thought about the declining dollar and the importance of gold as a result. Just thought I'd share this bit of interesting news.

Rumormille says, "MacBook Touch in October"

2008-09-24T02:12:00.006-04:00

So we all have been dreaming and hearing rumors of some kind of touch screen Apple computer at some point. Well it just may be true according to the "intelligence" collected and posted in this Gizmodo article. Gizmodo reports that MacDailyNews and AppleInsider have some "plot thickening" news that may add some merit to the rumors.

Kneekjerk reaction bite: Sounds very cool regardless of whether it's true or not. A touch screen MacBook is awesome, only I'm not interested. As I kind of alluded in a recent post on the Nano-chromatic line of iPods just released, too much, too fast. I applaud innovation, but I as a musician, believe in ebb and flow. In other words, the rests in the musical score are just as important as the notes versus a constant and long stream of sounds no matter how good. But then again, this is my kneejerk response. Let's wait and see! My tune might change. Stay synced!

Architecture and Dance, From Feist's Choreographer

2008-09-24T02:01:00.001-04:00

So do you remember that fabulous "1234" video that I like from Feist? Yes? Awesome, well this is Naome La France will bring you closer to the creative flow that she brought to Feist's creative effortss where she will dance on the walls and rooftops of Frank Gehry's architectural pieces of art. :) Check it out!

T-Mobile G1 Google Android phone - gesture unlocking

2008-09-24T01:50:00.001-04:00

Check out this cool lock feature on the new G1 Google Android mobile. Interesting, no?

Music Artist of the Week: Flying Lotus

2008-09-18T14:40:00.005-04:00

The artist for this week is Flying Lotus (Steven Ellison). His music is a combination of hip-hop, experimental, and psychedelic as described on his Myspace. Very different from the mainstream, but also interesting. He is definitely into vintage gaming, which shows up in his music, so you might want to pop over to his website flying-lotus.com for a cool old school gaming experience. Check out this interview with the Steven also. Oh, and if you feel a connection with his music, then you can purchase his past albums and current 2008 album Los Angeles on iTunes. Okay that's it, sorry for posting this late. Later and stay synced!

iScrewed

2008-09-17T14:33:00.003-04:00

I love Apple. No mystery, right? And of course, I like the iPod Nano and stuff. But I don't think I'm alone in feeling like Apple is whipping out another Nano in such a short amount of time. Hasn't it only been a year or something since the "1234" Nano was released. Yeah, I call the previous one that because I can't seem to detach Feist's song "1234" and the Nano commercial. Anyway, in solemn commemoration to all those that may feel just a little iScrewed, I am posting the video above.

Apple we love you, but geez, your consumers cannot keep up.

Palin and Hilary Cinton - SNL

2008-09-16T09:34:00.004-04:00

I know that everyone has been blogging about this and what not, but I am posting it anyway because this cracked me up! And for the record I think it's just a little bipartisan laughter that all can enjoy. Why be serious, we need to laugh, right? Anyway, watch and enjoy...again, and again, and again. :) Stay synced!

New Family - Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates Ad (Long Version)

2008-09-14T20:20:00.001-04:00

I'm so confused..... Would someone explain this to me?

Quote of the day

2008-09-14T15:36:00.008-04:00

"The dance floor at a hipster party looks like it should be surrounded by quotation marks." -Douglas Haddow, "Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization," Ad Busters Magazine, #79

Music in the Park

2008-09-13T11:14:00.001-04:00

Saw this new vide from RocketBoom and I think that it's so cool. That's it for now. Busy logging and taking notes on video footage for my final project. Later! And as usual... Stay synced!

Music Artist of the Week: Forest City Lovers

2008-09-11T06:00:00.004-04:00

As usual the artists that I come across and decide to feature on MacDavid are ones that I stumble upon. I was reading a random blog that led to another, whereupon I saw a random tweet but cannot remember where I saw it for the life of me. Either way I like this group's music.

Forest City Lovers consists of three talented people, Kat Burns, Mika Posen, and Kyle Donnelly. And get this, on their myspace.com page their "Sounds like" section reads like so, "Walking through the dimly lit streets of the city. Watching the streetlights come on, one by one, Sitting by the ocean. Smelling the summer air." Oh my goodness, I thought I was the only weirdo these days that will actually do these kinds of things.

Their music is simple, personable and memorable in style. I honestly do not and have not listened to music of this flavor before and yet I am intrigued by the feeling that their music evokes.

They are primarily based in Ontario, Canada where they hold the majority of their shows. This summer the band went on a tour of Western Canada and the video above is a little capture in time of their experience.

Check out the band's website at playthetriangle.com. (Hint: It's a very playful opening page that will require some clicking to eventually get you here.) Their latest album "The Sun and the Wind" is currently available in iTunes.

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Being Human Video

2008-09-07T21:07:00.005-04:00

This video is currently being featured on youtube and I really liked it. Please check it out. Video info: Two bothers discuss how to deal with medical miracle. Being Human was an official selection of the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

Silicon Valley Icons to Send DNA into Space

2008-09-07T12:03:00.007-04:00

I just found out that Robert Scoble (top tech blogger) and Kevin Rose (founder of Digg.com) are submitting their DNA to a company's project currently underway, called Operation Immortality (there are others but I'm only mentioning these two because I know of their influence). Their DNA samples will be digitized and submitted along with messages from people (gamers most likely) throughout the world.

"Operation Immortatlity will collect and archive the very best of what humanity has accomplished by storing a digital time capsule of the human race on the ISS [International Space Station]. This includes messages from people around the worlda long with the digitized samples from some of Earth's brightest minds, musicians, and athletes. [Richard] Garriot, who is most famous as the creator of the Ultima and Tabula Rasa video games, will transport the time capsule to the ISS on a storage device called the "Immortality Drive." Garriot will be the world's sixth private citizen and America's first second generation astronaut when he makes his voyage in October." Source: Yahoo Finance

As you read above, Richard Garriot is training as we speak to make his mission into space to deliver the Immortality Drive and "save humanity." Some if not all gamers regard him as the best game designer of all time. He is presently scheduled to take off for space on Columbus Day, October 13, 2008.

Now, a couple things that left an impression on me when I went to the Operation Immortality website is the video game look, as this operation is being tied in with Garriot's current game Tabula Rasa. I kept going and I wound up clicking on a picture of Garriot, which took me to richardinspace.com where you can check out his progress, all cool and great! So my impression is that this is a true and serious non-governmental mission. And based on what I've read Richard Garriot is buying his own ticket to space and back.

It is all interesting to say the least, but it kiiiiinda rubs on the edge of weird in some Orwellian sort of way. I can't justify this feeling with anything other than just my knee jerk reaction to the news story when I started writing this post. Now that I'm at the end of writing this, however, I'll say that I'm all for space exploration and what not, but frankly save your money. Citizens making maiden voyages on the fringe of the Earth's atmosphere while there is so much trouble on the ground presents a disconnect for me. In other words, I don't care about this.

Don't get me wrong, as I'm open to greater justifications beyond the noble reasoning of this nice game designer, as he hopes his mission will encourage more of what he phrases as, "Commerical Space Flight." Again, while it appears it's probably his own dollars being spent, there are more immediate reasons to devote that same money to more tangible face-to-face causes on Earth.

Trying to experience, look for or to establish some man-made pie in the sky just doesn't strike me as important in our post September 11, 2001 world.

Leave a comment and sound off on how you feel or what you think on this matter.

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Hurricane Ike from Space

2008-09-05T17:45:00.004-04:00

Ike is aiming for Florida and ain't backin' down. Ike is gonna make us eat this cake! *sigh*

Please keep Florida in your thoughts! :)

David

Music Artist of the Week: The Pinker Tones

2008-09-04T06:30:00.000-04:00

Apple September 9 Event

2008-09-04T01:37:00.001-04:00

Word on the street is that there is a special event to occur from Apple on September 9. Keep a look out for San Francisco and Apple.

M.A.W (Music Artist of the Week)

2008-09-01T23:20:00.003-04:00

I fell behind on the Music Artist of the Week on each Thursday and I even said that I would be back on...two weeks or so ago. Life happens, what can I say.

This is just a small announcement that things will be back on schedule starting this Thursday.

Alrighty!

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Video Challenge: When I Grow Up

2008-08-31T17:17:00.002-04:00

So the viddler.com video challenge for the month of August was to share a video of what you wanted to be when you grow up. Ummm, yeah about that....I'm a busy guy and my friends know this VERY well. So I really, truly do feel bad that I was late getting my video submitted, especially since a friend on viddler sent me a video and reminded me to do it. In spite of my tardiness (tsk tsk, shame shame) I, nevertheless, made a video and here is what I had to say about when I grow up.

Enjoy! i:)

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Facebook Movie & Aaron Sorkin

2008-08-30T21:20:00.007-04:00

First off I have to say the first thought that came to my mind was of a young Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and the movie Pirates of Silicon Valley. I know it has nothing to do with this but it's just that when I saw the words "movie" and "Mark Zuckerberg" thrown into the same sentence that's what came to mind.

Anyway onto the task at hand, "The West Wing" producer Aaron Sorkin has announced on his official Facebook page that he is doing research on Facebook in order to produce a movie on the creation of the internet social network sensation.

Sorkin's group page reads:

"I've just agreed to write a movie for Sony and Producer Scott Rudin about how Facebook was invented. I figured a good first step in my preparation would be finding out what Facebook is, so I'v started this page. (Actually it was started by my researcher, Ian Reichbach, because my grandmother has more Internet savvy than I do and she's been dead for 33 years.)" Join Aaron Sorkin's group!

I am reserving my judgment on this, but that doesn't go with saying that I have some very strong feelings on the whole idea. I will however, turn to you guys.

Tell me your thoughts on the Facebook movie idea? I really don't know where to begin with mine.

Stay synced!

Johnny Depp in Pompano Beach Florida

2008-08-30T20:23:00.004-04:00

Johnny Depp was in Pompano Beach, Florida on Friday. But here is a clip that a local grabbed on a small camera of him playing just last night. The whole gig was apparently a charity event for local concert promoter that passed away, Sheila Witkin.