Posts Tagged ‘Friday Fun’

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Friday Fun: Beer Wars

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Happy Friday everyone!

If you’ve ever met me in a bar or seen me in a decent restaurant and asked “what’s a good beer” then you’ve heard me give an impromptu lecture on brown ales or how a pilsener is different from a lager.  Yes, I’m a beer geek and it’s all because of a documentary called BEER WARS.

This week, that documentary is available on iTunes (and apparently my PS3 too but I can’t stop playing BORDERLANDS to check–help). Don’t believe me? Here’s the proof.

(that’s the documentary on the “iTunes->Movies” homepage sandwiched between NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU and some Hulk cartoon while I download the latest FRINGE).

Of course I’m biased (dear FTC, I worked on it for almost three years but I am not being compensated for this mention… but if the director wanted to buy me some tasty cupcakes I wouldn’t say “no”) but I think it’s a pretty damn good doc. Also, the “making of” was mighty interesting so I can’t wait for the behind-the-scenes book (hint, hint; nudge nudge).

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Friday Fun: Tony’s 2009 Winter Mix

Friday, January 29th, 2010

If you’ve known me for more than a moment you know that 1) I love music and 2) I love making mixtapes. I’ve made them for long road trip, short jobs, and girls that think I’m “really nice but…”. I won’t bore you with the “how I curate my annual mixtapes” so let’s just get to.

“Tony’s 2009 Winter Mix” which is a collection of song I acquired from the second part of last year. Want a copy? This is what you gotta do.

  • Drop a comment on my blog (not on Twitter, not on Facebook but on my Cinematic Arias blog) asking for the mix CD (be sure to leave the comment on this post’s page, not on another post’s page). I’ll email you for your mailing address.
  • The CD will arrive with no track names. This is purposeful. I believe a good mix has a narrative composed from the collected tracks. Resist the urge to spoil the surprise of “what comes next”. Jump in the car and listen to the whole thing at least once before you pull up Shazam on your iPhone.
  • By accepting a mix, you agree to come back to my blog and post your thoughts on at least one of the songs. It doesn’t have to be an essay, just a few sentences will do, but you do owe me your two cents.

But act fast because I only burned 10 of these guys and I’m not making more.

Speaking of which, a few of you owe me your thoughts from the last mix you received. Sean, Kate, Bella, Emily, I haven’t see your comments regarding the last two mixes you received. Come on, let’s hear what you got to say.

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Friday Fun: More Than Reality

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

Earlier this week I went to see Pee Wee’s Playhouse Live (for a real treat check out Pee Wee’s Official Website) and while trekking through Downtown LA hunting for a place to eat, my friend Cece kept drilling me with “but what’s augmented reality?” For some reason I was incredibly incoherent (I blame the two Manhattans coursing through my veins) but then she pulled out her iPhone, opened her Yelp app, shook her phone vigorously and then looked at a live video feed through the phone that also showed tags for restaurants ahead of us.

I grabbed her shoulder and said, “Cece, that’s AR!”

She had that “ah-ha” moment. She got it. For me, I had that moment when I dug into this issues of Esquire magazine (For the record, I’m a subscriber).

Let me back up. I received this issue of Esquire but didn’t even bother to open it (November was a busy month) until I heard this piece from On The Media (an awesome public radio show).

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I then whipped out my Esquire, downloaded the required software, engaged my webcam and BOOM, Robert Downey Jr was talking to me.

If you missed that issue, worry not. First, download this software. Next, download these AR pages and enjoy.  FYI, you’ll want to hear/see the joke both during the day and after midnight.

On a final note, by the time you read this I’ll be on the east coast for a quick trip to see some friends. Expect the next handful of posts to be chock-full of dude adventures from the big island of Manhattan and the swamp that is DC.

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Friday Fun: 25 Most Played Tracks

Friday, January 8th, 2010

When I first downloaded iTunes, I deleted all those pre-made smart playlists. I don’t need iTunes telling me which metrics to watch.

Years later, I saw my friend Todd Sklar post his 25 most played tracks and that got me curious. I put together a new smart playlist and… before you look at this let me just tell you that I’m positive iTunes missed a lot of play counts.

That said, here ya go:

How about you? Why don’t you post your 25 most played tracks. Come on, we won’t judge you (much).

Need help? In iTunes, click “File”, then “New Smart Playlist…” and use these parameters (FYI, I did this on my MacBook Pro but I’m sure it’s practically the same on a PC):

Looking forward to those lists and have a great Friday.

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Friday Fun: Neko Case Loves Films

Friday, December 18th, 2009

Earlier this month Neko Case was a guest curator on TCM. She showed four of her favorite films and then discussed them with Robert Osborne; this was one of the few times I wish I had cable.

What movies did she pick?

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If I were you, I’d check out these flicks. I’m sure my baby wouldn’t lead you astray. And if that weren’t enough fun for this Friday here’s a link to Neko performing live; thanks to NPR for posting this for free earlier this year.

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Friday Fun: Coverville

Friday, December 11th, 2009

Pink Floyd, Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Pulp, NWA, Gloria Gaynor, Nirvana… what do they all have in common? Each has had a song covered and now retired to the Coverville Hall of Fame. Therefore, today we celebrate Coverville.

Happy Fun Friday!

Okay, I know most of are asking yourself, “Cover-what?” Allow me to explain. First, a bit of back story. I jumped on the podcasting bandwagon the second I got my first iPod. One of my first subscriptions was Coverville, a music podcast by Brian Ibbott that celebrates the art of the cover. When I started listening, it was well before the show hit triple digits; as of this writing they’ve just posted episode #633, the one referenced above.

I could go into a long explanation about the Coverville Countdown or the Coverville Hall of Fame but let me just say that episode #633 is wall-to-wall awesome and these songs might never be played on Coverville again. Want a preview? Here’s one track you’ll find in episode #633. Warning: this song is not safe for work.

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If that doesn’t get you to subscribe, I don’t know what’s wrong with you.

Also, let me make a little pitch for Coverville. This is a free podcast, as in it doesn’t cost you anything. There’s only one or two commercials in the show and a list of sponsors at the end. Brian is a stand-up guy so he licenses all the music on his show and that’s a heavy financial burden. To ease that burden, he started the Coverville Citizenship program. Donate $40 and you’ll get a t-shirt, a DVD with the previous 100 episodes either as MP3 or AAC (which let’s you skip the commercials) and access to a bonus podcast.

Did I also mention that Brian put together a cover tribute to Spinal Tap? Did I also mention that it’s free, too?

So here’s your mission. First, subscribe to the podcast. Coverville is about to start their annual countdown so you’re guaranteed the cream of the crop. Second, download the Spinal Tap cover album. Third, if the first two things put a smile on your face do the right thing and become a Coverville Citizen. I’m a citizen and look at how happy Brian and I are…

GABF 2009 - 28
(we’re also at the GABF but that’s another story)

Have a great Friday!

(Oh-my-God, my fingers are so tired from embedding all those links!)

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Friday Fun: Kitty Porn

Friday, December 4th, 2009

Lately, I’ve been working a lot of graveyard shifts. While I have no complaints about the job, I will say that working nights can suck. I don’t get to hang with my friends, I can’t flirt with girls (I haven’t forgotten you Micki Krimmel), I can’t do anything other than eat, sleep and work.

Plus it’s the holiday season. Add to that the tough year I’ve had and it’s easy to see how my tendency towards quiet, amplified by working nights, results in resonant loneliness.

To shake it off, I turn to porn, kitty porn.

Note: I did not say child pornography, I said kitty porn, as in cute kitty videos like this…

or this…

or this…

I know, it’s a sickness but it gets me through the long nights.

For the record, I think I’m more of a dog person but puppy videos don’t quite do it for me like kitties.

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Friday Fun: The Grey Album

Friday, November 27th, 2009

In the spirit of the now officially open Christmas shopping season, allow me to add to your “Black Friday” frenzy and put my money where my mouth is… or would that be in your mouth?

…

Were you suddenly turned on?
Was that just me?
Let’s move on, shall we?

A couple of posts ago I explained why THE GREY ALBUM by Danger Mouse (with Jay-Z & The Beatles) is the undeniable album of the decade.

A few of you have heard of it but have never actually heard it.  Well, if you’re too lazy to Google it you’re in luck.

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All I ask is that you leave your thoughts on my blog (not on my Facebook feed).

Hope you survive the shopping madness and happy Friday.

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Friday Fun: Words

Friday, November 20th, 2009

It’s Friday so today it’s all about fun with words.

This year the New Oxford American Dictionary Word of the Year is… (drumroll)…

unfriend – verb – to remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.

Other words in the running:

hashtag – noun – a # [hash] sign added to a word or phrase that enables Twitter users to search for tweets that contain similarly tagged items and view thematic sets.

intexticated – adj. – distracted because of texting on a cellphone while driving a vehicle.

sexting – verb – the sending of sexually explicit texts and pictures by cellphone.

freemium – noun – a business model in which some basic services are provided for free, with the aim of enticing users to pay for additional, premium features or content.

deleb – noun – a dead celebrity

tramp stamp – noun – a tattoo on the lower back, usually on a woman.

Oh, I would have picked “tramp stamp” if I had any say in the matter. How that word takes me back to so many evenings, so many fumbled explanations of why it’s not a tramp stamp (“I was seventeen,” “It’s very spiritual,” “it’s Chinese for ’serenity’,” etc.). So many fond memories of sweet midnight moments  Oh Chrissy.  Sigh.

What? You’re all reading this?  Um, allow me a swift exit with this song aptly about words (sorta)

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Friday Fun: Horchata

Friday, November 13th, 2009

Have I mentioned that this has been a s**t week? How about that one of my jobs is moving office? Yeah, well, that’s only the half of it but it’s Friday so it’s a fun day.

Today we celebrate horchata.

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What, you don’t know this tasty Mexican treat? It’s so good Vampire Weekend wrote a song about the elixir.

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Next time you’re at a taqueria (a real one, not some lame Americanized chain), order up a tall, cool glass of horchata or why not try to make it yourself.

Hope you’re having some Friday fun!

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